L  I  E)  R_A  RY 

OF   THE 

U  N  I  VLR5  ITY 

or    ILLl  NOIS 

Shags 

V.I 


UIMi  lltSnwCAt.JWVET 


WM.    O'REILLY. 


REV.    JOHN    O  REILLY. 


REV.    MARK    ANTHONY. 


NICHOLAS    DUNCAN. 


RICHARD    CODY. 


STORY  OF  THE 

LA  SALLE  MISSION 


TWO  PARTS. 


FIRST  PART. 


BY 

REV.  THOS.  A.  SHAW,  C.  M. 

From  1838,  Arrival  of  First  Missioners,  to  1857, 
Departure  of  Rev.  J.  O'Reilly,  C.  M. 


•'My  train  are  men  of  choice  and  rarest  parts 

that  all  particulars  ot  duty  know; 
And  in  the  most  exact  regard  support 

the  worship  of  their  names." 

King  Lear — Shakespeare. 


CHICAGO 

M.  A.   DONOHUE  &  CO., 

PUBLISHERS 


^-n°i-i< 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

REV.  THOS.  A.  SHAW,  C.  M. 


<>l(fi  (fit  C<J 

Sh  2  2  s 


^•Hi 


V.  I 


DEDICATION. 


To  the  pioneer  Missionaries  of  Saint  Vincent  of  Paul,  and  to 
the  simple  genuine  Irish  Catholics  of  over  half  a  century  ago, 
whose  labors  for  God  are  memorials,  and  whose  virtues  are 
already  crowned,  this  first  part  of  the  story  of  the  La  Salle 
mission  is  lovingly  inscribed  by  their  confrere  and  friend  the 

AUTHOR. 


4. 


u 


PREFACE. 


The  motives  that  urged  the  writer  to  enter  upon  and  tell 
the  story  of  the  early  La  Salle  Lazarist  Missioners  were  first, 
the  special  request  made  upon  him  by  Superiors;  second,  the 
veneration  he  has  ever  had  for  the  early  Sons  of  St.  Vincent  of 
Paul,  laboring  in  the  La  Salle  fields,  whose  lofty  aims  and  tire- 
less labors  for  souls  first  drew  his  young  heart  to  the  religious 
family  of  the  Founder  of  the  Mission  Fathers;  third,  his  love 
for  the  people  of  primitive  La  Salle,  whose  simple  faith  and 
devotedness  to  the  Missioners  he  could  never  forget. 

It  was  characteristic  of  our  early  Fathers  "to  hide  the  secret 
of  the  King"  closely  copying  their  Great  St.  Vincent,  who  ab- 
horred "The  boast  of  pomp,"  and  ostentation.  Hence  the 
scantiness  of  manuscript  to  draw  from,  to  weave  the  story. 
Yet  is  the  narrative  trustworthy,  formed  from  the  evidence  of 
witnesses  on  the  spot,  and  from  tradition,  the  La  Salle  sur- 
vivors of  these  early  days  will  heartily  welcome  the  story  of 
their  fathers  in  God,  the  children  of  primitive  La  Salle  will  be 
interested  in  reading  the  times  of  their  fathers — and  all  who  are 
deeply  interested  in  the  spread  and  extension  of  the  only  true 
Religion  the  promoter  of  morals  and  bulwark  of  society,  will,  as 
they  con  the  lesson  given  in  the  story,  praise  that  Providence 

which  sent  the  masters  to  teach  it. 

The  Author. 


(5) 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  seizes  this  occasion,  the  seventieth 
year  of  the  estabHshment  of  the  La  Salle  Mission,  to  do  the 
bidding  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  "Let  us  praise  men  of  renown 
and  our  fathers  in  their  generations,"  and  to  answer  the  wish 
of  St.  Vincent  of  Paul,  expressed  to  one  of  his  sons:  "I  beg  of  you 
to  not  interrupt  this  good  custom  of  ours."  The  task  is  a 
trying  one,  chiefly  from  the  scantiness  of  materials,  since  there 
are  no  written  records  worth  mentioning.  Tradition,  history, 
picked  up  here  and  there,  that  had  dropped  from  the  lips  of  a 
half-dozen  people — three  of  them  turned  seventy,  three  in  the 
nineties — who,  as  Polycarp  witnessed  to  the  Beloved  Disciple, 
witnessed  to  the  words  and  labors  of  their  spiritual  fathers. 
Rosati,  Timon,  Raho,  Parodi,  Escoffier,  Demarchi,  Collins,  John 
O'Reilly,  Anthony,  Guedry,  and  Abbott  will  be  the  substance 
of  this  narrative. 

Previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  sons  of  St.  Vincent  of  Paul  in 
the  great  Illinois  country,  ere  they  had  made  it  their  home 
and  the  theatre  of  their  deeds  for  God  and  souls,  the  repre- 
sentative of  a  great  order,  explorer,  missioner  of  a  hundred 
tribes,  a  Thaumaturgus  in  all  the  word  signifies,  had  passed  once 
and  twice  and  thrice  through  the  teeming  valley.  To  pass  over 
the  fearless,  holy  Marquette  in  writing  our  notes  referring  to 
the  Illinois  territory,  were  as  foolish  as  to  describe  a  river  with- 
out telling  its  source.  The  history  of  the  great  Jesuit  is  the 
history  of  New  France  of  the  Era  of  LeGrand  Monarque,  Louis 
XIV.,  in  North  America.  If  the  Fleur  de  lis  once  floated  tri- 
umphantly over  the  Eastern  and  Western  lakes,  over  the  coun- 
tries fringing  the  gulf  and  the  river  St.  Lawrence, over  the  great 
rivers  of  the  West,  from  where  Pittsburgh  now  stands,  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  the  great  French  Jesuit  was  in  the  providence 
of  God,  the  instrument  to  give  the  Church  and  France  these 
vast  territories  and  a  score  of  Indian  tribes. Father  Marquette, 
accompanied  by  the  fur  trader  Joliet,  and  a  band  of  Huron 
Indian  Christians,  on  his  return  in  1673  from  exploring  the 
"Great  Father  of  Waters,"  the  Mississippi,  as  far  as  the  Arkan- 

(7) 


sas,  entered  the  Illinois  at  its  mouth  not  far  from  where  Alton 
City  now  stands ;  and  following  the  wide,  placid  stream — "quan- 
tum mutatum  ab  illo" — reached,  after  some  days,  the  Indian 
village  of  the  Peorias.  A  papoose  in  a  dying  condition,  was 
brought  to  him,  which  the  Saintly  Missioner  baptized. 

Ascending  the  river  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  he  touched 
at  Kaskaskia,  the  village  where  the  Illini  tribe  dwelt,  in  very 
truth  the  garden  spot  of  the  great  Illinois  valley. 

The  delay  of  the  Missioner  was  long  enough  to  survey  with 
his  observant  eye  the  "superior  body  of  men," — for  such  "Illini " 
implies — the  teeming  valley,  and  the  bulwark  of  nature,  known 
in  history  as  "Starved  Rock,"  at  whose  base  flowed  the  beau- 
tiful Illinois. 

Charmed  with  these  simple  children  of  the  forest,  and  giv- 
ing his  word  that  he  would  return  to  instruct  and  enroll  them 
as  Christians,  the  zealous  Missioner  bade  them  farewell,  launched 
his  canoe  on  the  waters  of  the  Illinois,  accompanied  by  his 
band,  and  began  his  voyage,  heading  for  the  Mission  of  St. 
Mary's,  that  lay  at  the  head  of  Lake  Huron.  They  entered  at 
Wilmington,  the  Kankakee,  sailed  up  to  its  source,  carried  the 
frail  craft  overland  to  Lake  Michigan,  dropped  it  on  the  Inland 
Sea,  and  called  on  Mary,  hugging  the  eastern  shore  for  safety, 
they  sailed  northward.  The  Straights  of  Mackinaw,  the  waters 
of  Lake  Huron,  the  beautiful  river  of  Ste.  Marie  they  had  with 
incredible  hardship,  made  triumphantly.  The  holy  Missionary 
was  at  last  at  his  beloved  Mission  of  St.  Mary's — the  Sault  or 
leaping  waters — that  connects  Lakes  Superior   and  Huron. 

The  winter  of  1673  had  already  set  in.  No  sooner  had  it 
passed,  and  the  spring  of  1674  had  opened  to  promise,  when, 
true  to  his  word,  Marquette  w^as  on  his  way  to  his  beloved  Illi- 
nois of  the  rich  valley;  following  the  route  he  had  taken  the 
year  previous,  except  that  now  he  sailed  the  western  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan  as  far  down  as  the  Chicago  River  which  he 
entered.  He  was  taken  out  of  the  canoe  in  an  alarming  condi- 
tion. His  faithful  Hurons  built  the  cabin  on  what  is  now  the 
throbbing,  heaving,  unparalleled  center  of  thorough  American 
energy  and  enterprise.  His  Illinois  children,  a  hundred  miles 
away,  heard  of  the  low  condition  of  their  beloved  Black  gown, 
and  directly  a  delegation  of  the  warriors  set  out  during  the 
winter  of  167 5-1 676  to  visit  the  Missioner.  The  meeting  and 
the  greeting  were  those  of  deep  affection,  witnessed  by 
tears  and  sobs  on  the  part  of  Father  and  children.     Was  there, 

(8) 


could  there  be,  any  reason  to  hope,  unless  by  miracle,  that  the 
Father's  frame,  now  exhausted  by  fatigue  and  unnumbered 
austerities,  would  ever  wax  strong  in  order  to  fulfill  his  word 
given  to  his  children  of  the  valley  ?  Father  Marquette  doubted, 
and  his  children  at  his  bedside  bade  him  take  heart,  and  stay 
and  die  in  their  country  as  he  had  promised  to  remain  a  long 
time.  He  and  his  dusky  braves  prayed  for  health  and  strength. 
Their  prayers  were  heard.  The  spring  of  1675  dawned,  and  the 
Missioner  in  Holy  Week  was  at  Kaskaskia  once  more.  The 
joy  of  his  poor  neophytes  at  seeing  their  best  friend  and  father 
was  boundless. 

The  work  of  instruction  began  and  was  continued.  The 
Mission  was  dedicated  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  placed  under  the 
protection  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Sweet  Mother 
Mary.  Beneath  the  great  rock  that  hung  over  the  beautiful 
river,  in  the  garden  valley,  among  the  thousand  wigwams  of 
Kaskaskia,  surrounded  by  the  whole  tribe  of  the  Illinois,  on 
the  memorable  Maundy  Thursday  of  1675,  the  holy  priest 
offered  the  first  Mass  ever  celebrated  west  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains.  Alas  that  the  spot,  the  picturesque  surroundings 
of  that  sublimest  of  actions  and  a  thousand  others  would  be 
so  treated,  so  forgotten!  that  spot  which  might  serve  to  grate- 
ful hearts,  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  shrines!  The  sower 
of  Christianity  in  the  West,  and  the  founder  of  Illinois  lies  buried 
in  the  town  of  St.  Ignace  on  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw.  The 
growing  city  Marquette,  on  Lake  Superior,  is  one  of  his  many 
monuments ;  his  name  as  explorer  of  the  great  West  is  the  first ; 
men  of  all  creeds  do  homage  to  his  memory,  and  Catholics 
venerate  him  as  a  saint  and  this  great  Republic  has  built  his 
monument  at  Washington. 

The  Illinois  country  is  connected  with  other  remarkable 
names — that  of  the  explorer  Robert  de  la  Salle,  and  the  Fran- 
ciscan Father  Hennepin.  In  December,  1678,  four  years  after 
the  departure  of  the  great  Jesuit,  to  the  consternation  of 
the  Illinois,  the  above  explorers  arrived  at  Kaskaskia.  The 
policy  of  the  dauntless  De  la  Salle  was  first  and  foremost,  the 
seizure  of  the  territory  to  the  crown  of  France,  and  then  the 
soul  of  the.Redman. 

A  colony  was  planted  near  the  Indian  village,  and  the  cliff 
(Starved  Rock)  was  made  to  serve  as  a  fortress  against  the 
incursions  of  the  Indians.  This  was  the  famous  fort  of  St. 
Louis,  the  first  built  in  the  West.     The    site    selected  for  the 

(9) 


colony  was  a  fit  center,  writes  the  American  historian  Bancroft: 
"A  cliff  two  hundred  feet  above  the  river  that  flows  at  its  base, 
in  the  center  of  a  lovely  country  of  verdant  prairies,  bordered 
by  distant  slopes,  richly  tufted  with  oak  and  black  walnut,  and 
bhe  noblest  trees  of  the  American  forest."  Short  was  the  life 
Df  the  French  colony  and  power,  represented  by  the  ensign  that 
waved  from  the  fort  over  the  garden  of  Illinois.  Chevalier  de 
la  Salle,  pierced  by  conspirators,  fell  in  March,  1687,  on  the 
plains  of  Texas,  and  the  body  of  the  "Father  of  civilization  in 
the  great  valley  of  the  West,"  was  eaten  by  the  wolf. 

The  fort  fell,  the  colony  was  broken  up  by  the  repeated 
Dnslaughts  of  the  savages,  whom  the  colonists  had  despised  and 
harassed  in  the  day  of  power.  Many  who  had  escaped  the 
tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  became  victims  to  starvation 
3T  to  the  fangs  of  the  wild  cat,  or  were  lost  in  the  waters.  The 
handful  that  survived,  spread  themselves  along  the  Mississippi. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  great  order 
took  up  the  work  of  its  celebrated  son,  Marquette,  and  the 
Illinois  and  the  Foxes  and  Peorias,  were  again  won  over  to  the 
Church.  The  conquest  of  Canada  by  the  British,  through  the 
defeat  of  Montcalm,  in  1759  at  Quebec,  destroyed  forever  the 
French  power,  and  with  it,  the  saving  work  of  the  Missionaries 
among  a  hundred  Indian  nations,  in  the  region  that  had  been 
New  France.  The  great  Illinois  valleys  that  had  rung  so  often 
with  the  sound  of  peace,  and  whose  children  had  once  worn  the 
beams  of  joy  issuing  from  Christian  "hearts,  now  were  turned 
into  battle  fields;  and  the  question  in  the  hour  of  British  power, 
and  when  the  colonies  threw  off  the  yoke  of  British  tyranny,  was 
which  would  be  the  owner  of  the  western  garden  territory,  the 
aborigines  or  the  whites? 

The  decision  was  easily  delivered.  The  brute  force  of  savage, 
undisciplined,  unorganized,  yielded  to  the  superior  tactics  of 
the  Whites.  The  serried  columns  of  the  militia,  moving  on  the 
brave,  incoherent  mass  of  Indians,  had  oft  and  again  by  their 
bayonet  charge  or  musketry,  routed  or  killed  the  foe;  and  oft 
again,  in  many  a  skirmish  and  battle  with  the  Whites,  the  In- 
dian, in  his  turn,  had  carried  away  the  scalp.  Yet  had  he  be- 
come so  far  reduced  by  disease,  fratricidal  wars,  battles  with  the 
Whites,  that  to  make  him  a  wanderer,  to  drive  him  ruthlessly 
away  from  his  hunting  grounds  and  his  wigwam,  the  home  of 
his  ancestors,  was  in  the  policy  of  a  strong  government,  the 
wisest  and  best  plan.     The  last  Indian  war  that  spread  ruin  and 

do 


covered  with  desolation  the  IlHnois  country  known  as  the  Black 
Hawk,  began  and  ended  in  1832,  six  years  before  the  arriva 
at  La  Salle,  Illinois,  of  the  priests  of  the  Mission.     In  the  Illi- 
nois country  henceforth  the  Redman  would  have  "No  local  habi- 
tation and  name." 


(11) 


CHAPTER  I. 

In  the  Illinois  territory,  as  elsewhere  in  the  great  republic, 
emigration  thread  its  way,  at  first,  like  a  rivulet;  but  no  sooner 
had  the  territory  been  admitted  to  the  Union  in  1818,  and  the 
State  Legislature  of  Illinois  had  been  elected  to  enact  wise  laws 
and  to  make  appropriations  for  opening  up  the  vast  resources 
of  the  Garden  State,  to  attract  and  urge  emigration  by  offering 
land  to  settlers  at  a  nominal  value,  than  what  had  been  at  first 
a  rivulet,  grew  into  a  rushing  stream,  deepening  its  channel  and 
broadening  its  banks,  fertilizing  the  vast  area  with  the  blessings 
of  peace  and  prosperity. 

The  bill  and  appropriations  for  building  a  channel  called  the 
Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  that  would  connect,  at  Chicago, 
Lake  Michigan  with  the  Illinois  River,  at  La  Salle,  the  commerce 
of  the  lakes  with  the  commerce  of  the  great  rivers  southwestward, 
passed  the  houses  at  Springfield,  the  Capitol.  The  work  of 
cutting,  this  artery  began  at  Chicago,  and  at  La  Salle,  the  termi- 
nus, on  the  national  festival,  4th  of  July,  1836. 

The  question  now  on  the  lips  of  every  keen  observer,  and 
well  wisher  for  the  improvement  and  development  of  the  great 
state  was:  Where  could  there  be  found  contractors  for  the 
work,  and  men  to  carry  it  on?  Only  four  years  had  gone  by 
since  the  terrible  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife  had  hung  over 
the  beautiful  valleys  of  the  richest  of  territories.  The  name  of 
Black  Hawk  rang  through  the  continent,  as  did  that  of  the 
Lion-hearted  Richard,  through  the  regions  of  the  Saracen — a 
name  of  terror  and  dismay.  Might  there  not  still  be  the  treach- 
erous savage,  lurking  in  the  forest,  on  the  clumps  of  hazel  which 
skirted  the  Illinois  that  ran  southernly  a  little  distance  from 
the  projected  canal?  The  ports  of  entry  for  merchandise  and 
for  emigrants  in  that  early  day  were  Boston,  New  York,  Balti- 
more and  New  Orleans.  These  were  the  objective  points  which 
the  people  of  the  old  world  made  for;  and,  to  each  of  these 
cities,  contractors  who  had  the  building  of  the  State  canal,  sent 
circulars  inviting  labor  and  offering  terms  for  the  work.     The 

(13) 


14  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE__MISSION. 

circulars  had  their  effect.  Thousands  of  hardy,  industrious 
men,  fully  three-fourths  of  them  Irish  Roman  Catholics, 
whom  unjust  and  cruel  laws  had  forced  to  the  Asylum^of 
all  Nations,  leaving  the  great  eastern  and_southern  centers^of 
commerce  where  the  two  extremes  of  wealth  and  beggary  existed, 
where  the  jewel  of  faith  was  so  often  dimmed,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  lost,  through  the  wayward  surroundings  in  which  the 
unwary  poor  happened  to  live,  headed  for  Buffalo,  and  taking 
boat,  sailed  the  lakes,  or  journeyed  to  Pittsburg,  and  sailed  the 
Ohio  and  western  rivers,  or  made  the  whole  route  from  New 
Orleans  by  water  to  reach  work  on  the  great  canal.  Along  the 
hundred  miles  of  the  cut,  from  Chicago  to  La  Salle,  Irish  con- 
tractors and  Irish  mechanics  and  laborers  were  engaged,  building 
up  the  great  waterway. 

The  prospects  of  living  were  good  and  money  was  plenty. 
As  humble  as  were  the  cabins  which  rimmed  the  great  highway 
in  course  of  building,  each  of  them  could  serve  up  at  any  mo- 
ment for  its  inmates,  friends  and  strangers,  in  true,  genuine 
Irish  hospitality,  a  round  of  dishes.  Gratefulness  for  the  favor 
on  the  part  of  the  guest  was  ever  below  the  generosity  of  the 
giver.  Nothing  in  the  eatable  and  clothing  markets  was  priced 
too  high  so  long  as  the  length  of  the  purse  continued.  The  best 
was  always  the  cheapest. 

In  view  of  the  peasantry  of  Ireland,  to  keep  open  house  was 

a  grade  of  nobility  only  inferior  to  that  of  giving  welcome  to 

the  representative  of  Jesus  Christ — the  Soggarth  Aroon.     The 

casual  observer,  passing  from  the  cabins  to  the  cut,  and  back 

again  from  the  cut  into  the  cabins,  would  find  nothing  among 

the  masses  of  men,  or  in  their  snug  shanties  but  the  look  of 

cheerfulness,  the  sparks  of  wit  flying  here  and  there,  and,  as  a 

consequence,  roars  of  laughter,  which  made  life  easy  and  sped 

it  along  as  attractively  and  sportingly  as  the  chattering  brook. 

Yet  to  the  brave  stalwarts  themselves,    one  and  all  Catholic, 

there  was  much  to  notice  and  open  up  sorrow.     Each  one  felt 

and  expressed  that  "not  in  bread  alone  doth  man  live;   but  in 

every  word  that  proceedeth  from  the  mouth  of  God."     The 

relations  of  the  national  character  with  the  gift  and  profession 

of  Divine  faith,  which 

"Was  lit  at  Kildare's  holy  fane, 

And  burned  thro'  all  ages  in  darkness." 

were  like  the  union  of  hearts.     Theirs  was  not  the  horizon  of 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  IS 

the  mere  natural.  They  aspired  after,  sighed  after  something 
higher  and  nobler,  than  the  prosperity  they  enjoyed.  The 
memories  of  the  Old  Land  were  still  fresh — the  memories  of  the 
priest  and  chapel  and  grave-yard;  of  Sunday  and  feast-day, 
which  brought  families  in  scores  together,  to  the  all-atoning 
sacrifice,  to  fill  their  hearts  for  the  coming  week  with  grace  to 
resist  and  overcome  temptation  in  every  form;  to  confess  with 
broken-heartedness  their  failings,  and  draw  strength  to  com- 
mence anew — these  were  the  thoughts  of  our  good  IlHnois 
canallers, 

"Which  came  in  the  night  time  of  sorrow  and  care, 
And  brought  back  the  features  that  joy  used  to  wear." 

but  only  for  a  passing  hour. 

The  chief  Catholic  Irish  contractor,  to  whom  was  awarded 
the  western  part  of  the  projected  canal  running  from  Marseilles 
to  La  Salle,  the  terminus,  was  Mr.  William  Byrne.  In  talent, 
especially  in  the  study  of  practical  mensuration,  he  had  in  that 
day  few  equals. 

His  full  physical  development  of  a  frame  measuring  six  feet 
two  inches,  his  massive  forehead,  keen  eye,  his  quick  nature, 
impetuous  at  times,  but  with  all  most  forgiving  and  forgetful: 
with  a  style  of  speech  that  Sam  Johnson  would  listen  to;  and 
manners.  Old  Hickory  and  Tom  Benton  could  not  but  admire ; 
his  home  the  largest,  the  widest,  the  tallest  of  log  cabins  built 
on  a  site,  commanding  the  most  correct  view  of  the  scenery 
of  the  Illinois  valley — at  a  point  where  the  canal  flows  into  the 
Illinois  River — with  an  open  house,  a  table  ever  spread  on  which 
every  plate  could  find  luxury  and  abundance. 

Such  is  merely  a  glance  at  the  character  of  him  we  knew  so 
well  and  ever  venerated.  "Billy  Byrne" — as  he  was  familiarly 
called  and  lovingly  named,  had  immeasurably  much  to  recom- 
mend him  to  the  thousands  of  his  own  day,  and  to  the  sons  of 
St.  Vincent — "in  aeternum  et  ultra."  He  was  a  patriot  of  the 
days  of  the  Immortal  Emmet ;  of  the  days  of  which  the  lamented 
John  Mitchell  sang: 

"Remember  '98,  go  ahead,  go  ahead." 

How  often  has  the  writer  and  many  of  ,the  old  confreres, 
most  of  whom  are  departed,  as  the  grand  old  man — then  in  his 
sixtieth  year — bared  his  shoulders,  gazed  on  the  sharply  defined 
scars  of  what  the  cruel  and  inhuman  cutlass  of  a  Norbury  had 


i6  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

wrought  in  the  "Land  of  the  Shamrock/'  and  the  "Isle  of 
Saints"!  His  glory,  however,  is  that  he  was  a  great  CathoHc, 
and,  like  all  men  given  to  the  study  of  the  influence  of  religion 
upon  the  individual,  especially  upon  the  sons  of  the  Gael,  and 
upon  the  commonwealth  at  large,  the  presence  of  the  priest  in 
the  historic  La  Salle  country  he  considered,  the  condition  of  its 
real  life. 


WILLIAM    BYRNE. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Wm.  Byrne  in  Search  for  Our  Missionaries. 

The  Illinois  River  of  the  years  from  1837  to  1853  was  navi- 
gable from  Ottawa,  in  La  Salle  County,  to  its  mouth.  It  was 
a  broad  and  deep  channel,  on  which  the  commerce  of  western 
and  southwestern  Illinois,  made  their  way  to  the  then  only 
thriving  city  of  the  Far  West,  St.  Louis.  The  boats  that  plied 
this  great  feeder  of  the  father  of  waters,  were  as  superb  in  their 
apartments  for  the  traveling  public,  and  fully  as  fully  stocked 
with  the  best  of  the  market,  and  at  as  low  a  fare,  as  any  that 
sailed  the  Mississippi.  Fully  three-fourths  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois were  then  part  of  the  diocese  of  Upper  Louisiana.  The 
Holy  Son  of  St.  Vincent,  Bishop  Joseph  Rosati,  then  governed 
the  territory  which  embraced  nearly  the  whole  of  the  vast 
Louisiana  Purchase,  over  forty  dioceses,  and  a  very  limited 
clergy. 

Under  him  labored  in  this  vast  field  twenty-seven  of  his 
own  clergy,  twenty-three  Jesuit  fathers,  and  twenty-five  of  his 
confreres,  the  priests  of  the  Mission.  This  was  the  "pusillus 
grex  constituit  pater  dare,"  to  feed  and  guard  the  sheep  in  the 
pasture,  and  to  hunt  up  that  ever  large  number,  which  had 
strayed  away.  They  did  not,  they  could  not  make  much  head- 
way, the  area  was  so  vast. 

An  occasional  visit  fifty,  one  hundred,  two,  four  hundred 
miles  from  St.  Louis,  or  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  the  home  of  the 
Missioners,  had  been  all  that  could  be  done  for  the  Catholic 
settlements,  until  priests  sufficient  in  number,  would  be  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Bishop,  to  appoint  resident  pastors.  The  valley 
of  the  Illinois,  the  La  Salle  country,  covering  an  area  of  nearly 
three  hundred  miles  square,  had  only  the  advantage  of  an  occas- 
ional or  yearly  visit  to  the  many  settlements  that  were  making. 

The  voyage  from  La  Salle,  the  would-be-terminus  of  the 
Illinois  canal,  and  the  residence  of  the  contractor  and  of  a  large 
number  of  Catholics,  to  St.  Louis  took  the  better  part  of  three 

(17) 


i8  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

days.  The  Bishop  resided  in  the  latter  city,  and  WilHam  Byrne, 
with  the  expressed  wish  of  his  countrymen,  must  go  on  an  errand 
after  Missioners. 

Accordingly,  near  Christmas,  1837,  he  took  the  boat  at  Peru, 
a  village  joining  La  Salle,  and  sailed  to  St.  Louis.  He  called 
on  his  Lordship,  laid  before  him  the  condition  of  the  hundreds 
of  Irish  Catholics  in  the  northeastern  portion  of  Illinois,  particu- 
larly those  on  the  public  works,  and  implored  him  to  send,  with- 
out delay,  Missioners.  The  good  bishop  listened  to  the  con- 
tractor with  much  satisfaction,  and  yet  with  evident  feeling: 
"nam  velle  adjecit  mihi;"  many  laymen,  like  Mr.  Byrne,  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  true  faith,  had  called  upon  him  on  the  like 
errand,  and  he  had  not  committed  himself  to  a  promise,  because 
he  saw  not  how  he  could  fulfill. 

In  the  case  of  the  La  Salle  contractor,  Bishop  Rosati  assured 
him  he  would  do  his  utmost  to  satisfy,  as  soon  as  convenient, 
his  children  of  the  La  Salle  country.  In  three  days  after  the 
interview,  Mr.  Byrne  was  again  in  his  home,  the  bearer  of  the 
news  to  his  countrymen — that  Missioners  would  soon  dwell 
amongst  them. 

The  Bishop  lost  no  time  making  use  of  every  available  means 
to  supply  the  wants  of  his  Northern  children.  He  leaned  on 
the  congregation  of  the  Mission.  Father  Timon  was  then  its 
visitor,  and  Prefect  Apostolic  of  the  vast  territory  of  Texas. 
"Clarum  et  venerable  nomen"  among  his  confreres  and  among 
the  great  Hierarchy  of  the  United  States  CathoHc  Church. 
None  knew  better  and  could  take  in  more  correctly  the  condi- 
tion and  surroundings  of  the  scattered  numbers  of  Catholics. 
Moreover,  none  was  ever  readier  to  lend  his  apostolic  zeal,  where 
it  could  be  done,  for  the  salvation  of  the  poor.  When  returned 
from  his  labors,  weighty  and  many  and  various  as  those  of  the 
great  apostle  "periculis  fiuminun,  periculis  latromum,  pericuHs 
in  genere,  periculis  in  solidudine,  periculis  in  mari,  periculis  ex 
falsis  fratribus;  in  fame  et  siti,  in  frigore  et  nuditate;"  he  made 
his  home  at  the  mother  house  of  the  community  in  the  United 
States,  St.  Mary's  Seminary — the  Barrens,  Perry  County, 
Missouri. 

At  his  request.  Father  Timon  called  on  his  Lordship.  The 
latter  made  known  his  will  to  the  former,  to  send  Missioners  to 
the  children  of  the  faith — to  the  happy  Illinois  country;  to 
make  La  Salle  village  their  headquarters,  and  thence  along  the 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  19 

rivers,  and  creeks,  and  over  the  prairies  to  spread  and  establish 
the  kingdom  of  God.  The  visitor  was  not  the  man  to  refuse, 
though  just  now  he  was  asked  to  make  a  great  sacrifice.  Appli- 
cations from  the  holy  Bishop  Blanc,  of  New  Orleans,  asking 
Missioners  for  his  seminary  and  for  parishes  had  been  pouring 
in,  and  had  been  answered.  To  meet  the  La  Salle  difficulty, 
which  was  urgent,  the  only  means  at  hand  was,  for  the  confreres 
at  the  old  seminary  to  take  upon  themselves  the  additional 
labor  of  the  two  Missioners,  who  would  leave  the  old  home  for 
the  La  Salle  country,  or  abandon  one  of  the  many  Missions  the 
community  had  in  southern  Illinois  and  southeast  Missouri. 
The  Missions  continued,  and  the  recruits  for  supplying  the  La 
Salle  Mission  the  old  home  cheerfully  gave,  to  the  delight  of 
Bishop  Rosati. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Fathers  Raho  and  Parodi  leave  the  Renowned  old  St.  Mary's  the 
Barrens  and  Reach  La  Salle  III. 

The  Missionary,  moved  to  another  Mission,  would  receive 
notice  probably,  at  the  same  time  as  the  procurator,  who  would 
have  the  conveyance  in  readiness  for  the  traveler  by  the  ap- 
pointed hour. 

Accepting  a  new  establishment,  or  taking  possession  of  a  new 
country — for  such  was  the  Illinois  Mission,  would  reasonably 
demand  a  full  outfit,  inseparable  from  a  Missioner's  calling — 
the  saddle-bag  with  altar  furniture  and  sick-call  cases — the  huge 
box  filled  with  the  attempt  at  a  library  and  lastly  the  carpet 
bag  containing  a  wardrobe.  The  "Homo  ad  unguem "  of  Horace, 
and  the  ecclesiastical  fop  had  no  existence  in  the  days  of  which 
we  write.  Had  he  then  lived,  he  would  have  been  as  searching 
an  object  of  curiosity  and  of  pity,  as  the  soldier  "en  habit  de 
salon,"  in  the  ranks  of  an  invading  army. 

Thursday  the  22nd  of  March,  1838,  after  the  usual  visit  on 
leaving  the  house,  to  the  "Father  of  the  family,"  and  kneeling 
for  the  Superior's  blessing,  embracing  all  their  confreres,  seated 
in  the  heavy  wagon,  so  well  known  to  the  old  Barrenite  con- 
freres, with  the  baggage  under  their  eye,  the  Missioners,  Raho 
and  Parodi  started  in  earnest  on  their  journey  of  four  hundred 
miles,  driving  to  the  Mississippi,  Saint  Mary's  landing,  twelve 
miles  distance  from  the  seminary. 

This  was  the  only  distance  they  had  to  wagon;  the  steam- 
boat would  carry  them  the  rest  of  the  journey.  After  three 
hours  on  a  road  cut  through  the  timber,  jolted  at  every  revolution 
of  the  wheels — with  notched  trees,  the  landmarks  pointing  the 
road — the  team  and  its  freight  stood  before  Pratt's  hotel.  The 
good  Fathers  entered  the  inn,  and  the  negro,  one  of  the  oldest 
servants  of  the'  Seminary  refreshed  his  team,  and  then  himself. 
In  an  hour  the  Seminary  wagon  was  on  its  way  back,  and  by 
the  time  it  reached  home,  the  steamboat  had  whistled   and 

(20) 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  ai 

made  the  landing.  The  Confreres,  with  their  baggage  got  on 
board.  The  vessel  in  a  little  while  was  breasting  the  rushing 
current,  bound  for  St.  Louis.  It  was  night,  and  no  doubt,  the 
pleasure  enjoyed  from 

"Kind  Nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep." 
in  the  sumptuous  apartments  of  a  Mississippi  palace  steamer, 
compensated  largely  the  fatigued  Missioners  for  their  wagon 
ride. 

At  about  6  A.  M.  Friday,  the  boat  moored  at  the  St.  Louis 
levee,  and  the  Confreres,  with  their  effects  were  driven  to  the 
St.  Vincent's  house.  There  they  celebrated  the  Holy  Mass; 
for  one  of  the  hundred  acts  of  virtue  very  marked  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  Conferers,  was  that,  no  matter  how  tired  or  other- 
wise indisposed,  unless  it  were  by  serious  sickness,  they  never 
failed,  when  possible,  to  prepare  and  offer  the  adorable  sacrifice. 
They  sojourned  from  Friday  until  Sunday  in  the  Mound  City; 
called  on  the  Saintly  Rosati,  and  notified  Mr.  Byrne  at  La  Salle 
by  letter,  that  they  would  leave  on  the  26th.  " He  received  us " 
writes  Father  Raho,  "with  the  most  lively  affection."  And  it 
may  safely  be  stated,  that  the  largest  faculties  in  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Bishop  to  grant,  were  in  proportion  to  the  distance 
of  the  northeastern  extremity  of  his  diocese  from  St.  Louis,  and 
the  many  difficulties  and  trials  which  the  Missioners  must  neces- 
sarily meet  and  pass  through,  were  it  obligatory  to  sue  for  and 
obtain  dispensations.  Whatever  would  be  needed  for  the  Mis- 
sion, and  which  they  did  not  carry  from  the  old  home,  as  wine 
for  the  Holy  Mass,  etc.,  etc.,  during  their  short  stay,  they  pur- 
chased. 

Monday  morning,  March  26th,  the  Illinois  packet,  bound 
for  La  Salle,  was  scheduled  to  leave,  and  once  more,  the  Mis- 
sioners without  break  in  their  voyage,  sailed  to  their  destination. 
The  voyage  from  St.  Louis  to  La  Salle  in  that  early  day  was 
made  in  three  days;  and  a  more  enjoyable  trip,  any  time  in  the 
autumn,  or  at  the  season  the  Missioners  traveled,  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  choose,  and  more  difficult  to  excel. 

As  the  boat  left  her  moorings,  and  pulled  out  into  the  deep 
channel,  splitting  the  angry  flood,  as  she  pointed  north-westerly, 
the  hurricane  roof  would  be  lined  on  the  city  side  with  search- 
ing eyes  for  the  beautiful  in  nature  and  art.  The  Mound  City 
of  30,000  was  then  a  picture;  the  levee,  guarded  with  miles  of 
steamboats,  now  leaving,  now  arriving;    alive  and  full  of  life, 


3  2  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION 

as  the  wheels  of  industry  conveyed  the  newly  arrived  cargoes 
of  cotton,  sugar  and  molasses  to  the  warehouse,  or  hauled  the 
northern  products  for  shipment  to  the  South;  the  buildings  for 
merchandise  and  storage  were  massive  and  high  for  those  days; 
streets  running  at  right  angles;  dwellings  nestling  in  orchards 
of  cherries,  apples  and  pears;  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral, 
just  finished  in  Roman  style  of  architecture,  a  monument  to-day 
of  beauty  and  of  the  zeal  of  the  first  bishop  of  St.  Louis.  Surely 
to  gaze  on  such  a  scene  would  be  worth  the  while,  as  adding  to 
knowledge  much  of  interest  and  of  pleasure.  Nor  did  the  Mis- 
sioners  fail  to  take  in  "the  meeting  of  the  waters,"  the  Missouri 
and  the  Mississippi,  the  Big  Muddy — the  scavenger  of  the  vast 
northwestern  territories — and  the  clear,  bright  "father  of  waters" 
where  the  influence  of  the  former  upon  the  latter  "points  a 
moral  and  adorns  a  tale."  At  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River, 
a  little  south  of  the  city  of  Alton,  the  boat  entered,  and  is  plough- 
ing the  great  artery  of  the  Illinois  country.  The  forests  that 
rimmed  its  banks,  the  game  that  filled  them,  and  swam  in  its 
limpid  waters  before  the  axe  of  the  heartless  woodman,andthe 
wheels  of  the  factory  had  stolen  its  waters,  the  lake  on  whose 
shore  the  Peorias  had  pitched  their  wigwams  and  into  whose 
waters  they  had  sent,  with  deadl}?-  effect,  the  swift  spear,  mirror- 
ing in  its  glassy  waters,  the  neat  thrifty  dwellings  and  pictur- 
esque backgrounds  [oi  the  chief  city  on  the  Illinois,  were 
objects  that  varied  what  had  proved  monotonous,  and  sped 
the  hours  joyfully,  which  otherwise  would  have  been  dreary  and 
heavy. 

From  Peoria  to  La  Salle  is  a  distance  of  sixty-five  miles,  a 
sail  of  ten  hours.  Thursday,  midnight,  March  29th,  the  steam- 
boat with  her  precious  cargo  put  in  at  Peru.  The  populations 
of  Peru  and  La  Salle,  a  bridge  divides.  All  shades  of  belief  and 
both  sexes,  in  a  flood  of  light,  rolling  from  five  hundred  torches, 
massed  the  river  bank.  The  sight  of  the  Missionaries,  as  they 
moved  out  of  the  boat  and  got  on  shore,  rent  the  midnight  air 
by  the  shrill  whistling  of  the  steamer,  the  rolling  of  drums,  and 
the  shouts  of  welcome — welcome  from  the  hearts  of  a  happy 
people;  for  the  representatives  of  Christ  had  at  last  arrived, 
and  "God  had  visited  His  people." 

The  crowd,  headed  by  Mr.  William  Byrne  and  family,  came 
forward,  too  full  of  joy  for  utterance,  and  pressed  heartily  the 
hands  of  the  good  fathers.     Two  horses  stood  in  waiting  for  the 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  23 

Missionaries  under  the  eye  of  John  Cody,  destined  to  play  so 
important  a  part  in  the  first  years  of  the  La  Salle  Mission.  The 
procession  formed — first  the  contractor,  to  whom  the  people 
awarded  the  high  praise,  deservedly  merited,  of  bringing  Christ- 
ianity to  La  Salle,  then  the  band,  consisting  of  fiutes,fifes  and 
drums,  the  men  four  deep,  each  carrying  lighted  torches,  lastly 
Father  Raho  and  Father  Parodi,  each  sitting  on  the  horse  as- 
signed him,  the  latter  keeping  John  Cody  at  his  side.  At  the 
word  of  the  commanding  officer,  the  band  struck  up  "Garry- 
owen,"  and  the  procession  moved,  heading  towards  the  home 
of  William  Byrne,  a  full  mile  from  the  wharf.  After  climbing 
a  hill,  for  the  well  known  log  cabin  of  the  contractor  looked 
out  on  the  valley,  the  organization  in  crescent  form,  stood  in 
front  of  the  residence.  The  Fathers  dismounted  and  faced  the 
vast  crowd.  The  march  had  ended  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
affectionate  people,  and  to  the  joy  of  the  men  of  God.  Father 
Parodi  was  particularly  overjoyed,  and  John  Cody  was  never 
happier;  for,  had  the  last  named  gentleman  at  any  step  of  the 
big  walk,  let  go  the  grip  he  had — and  indeed  he  was  a  little  giant 
in  muscle — of  Father  Parodi,  and  the  saddle  the  mind  re- 
fuses to  dwell  on  what  might  have  happened  to  the  good  Father, 
to  the  horse,  and  to  John,  who  henceforth,  in  sunshine  and  storm, 
stood  to  the  Missioner  a  guardian  angel. 

The  address  of  welcome  was  now  in  order;  and  placing  her- 
self facing  the  Missionaries,  the  little  daughter  of  William  Byrne 
read  in  slow,  distinct,  silvery  tones,  in  the  name  of  the  Catholics 
of  La  Salle  and  Peru,  an  address  of  hearty  greeting  to,  and  of 
best  wishes  for  the  Ambassadors  of  Christ. 

Whole-souled  cheers  from  Irish  hearts,  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  address,  closed  the  ceremonies  of  that  memorable  night. 
In  an  hour; 

"There  was  silence  deep  as  death 
And  the  boldest  held  their  breath." 

The  first  home  of  the  sons  of  St.  Vincent  in  the  Illinois  coun- 
try was  the  Byrne  mansion. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Father  Raho  Sketches  the  MissionField. 

"Let  Nehemias  be  remembered!" 

Alas,  that  the  fact  had  been  allowed  to  slip  out  of  the  memory 
of  scores,  who  had  every  right  to  keep  it  green!  The  account 
of  the  arrival  and  reception  of  the  first  Missionaries  to  La  Salle, 
given  the  superior  general  Nozo,  by  Father  Raho,  the  Superior 
of  the  La  Salle  Mission,  in  his  letter  of  1840,  Vol.  9  of  the  annals 
of  the  congregation  of  the  Mission,  tallies  in  every  thing,  except 
that  the  word  Irish  is  not  mentioned,  with  the  above  descrip- 
tion, given  by  eye  witnesses,  John  Cody,  William  O'Reilly,  and 
Barney  Murtaugh,  shares  in  the  scenes  of  the  hour. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  '38,  writes  Father  Raho,  among  the 
Illinois,  "we  stood  on  this  new  field  opened  to  tillage  by  Divine 
Providence,  where  never  before  a  priest  had  been.  To  tell  you 
the  joy  with  which  the  news  of  our  arrival  had  filled  all  hearts, 
is  impossible. 

Though  it  was  midnight,  it  did  not  hold  back  the  multitude 
from  besieging  us.  Catholics  (Irish)  and  Protestants,  vied  with 
one  another  to  give  expression  to  their  gratefulness  for  coming 
among  them.  It  was  the  hour  of  triumph.  They  carried 
Hghted  torches. 

A  little  child  came  forward,  and,  in  the  name  of  all,  made  us 
an  address  full  of  dignity,  as  complimentary  as  it  was  simple  and 
touching.  We  could  hardly  believe  our  eyes.  The  welcome 
was  overpowering.  We  looked  upon  it  as  a  happy  omen  of  the 
success  of  our  ministry,  among  so  beautifully  disposed  a  people." 

The  late  hour  at  which  the  Fathers  and  the  joyous  multitude 
retired,  or  rather  the  early  hour,  for  March  30th,  Friday,  had 
begun — did  not  hinder  the  priests  from  offering,  and  many 
of  the  people,  including  the  Byrne  family,  from  assisting  at  the 
first  masses  celebrated  in  La  Salle. 

The  old  pioneers  of  the  sanctuary  had  great  provisional  gifts 

(24) 


JOHN    CODY. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  25 

and  fertile  brains,  excellent  tact,  wonderful  qualities  of  adapta- 
tion and  happy  dispositions.  As  the  Israelites  in  the  desert, 
carried  and  located  the  ark  wherever  they  roamed,  so  the  Mis- 
sioners  carried  and  built  the  altar  wheresoever  in  the  valley 
or  on  the  prairie  he  would  pass  the  night.  The  tail  of  a  wagon, 
the  box  of  a  buggy,  or  now  the  table  of  the  family  of  the  host 
served  as  a  stand;  the  saddle-bags  contained  all  the  requisites 
in  altar  stone,  Hnens,  etc.,  etc.,  for  the  due  celebration  of  the 
Divine  mysteries.  In  the  largest  room  of  the  cabin,  the  tem- 
porary altar  was  erected,  and  every  thing  for  the  holy  sacrifice 
was  in  readiness.  The  room  was  crowded.  The  Superior  offered 
first,  then  the  assistant  confrere.  God  alone  could  judge  which 
fervor  was  the  more  acceptable  to  him ;  that  of  the  simple  wor- 
shipers who,  over- gladdened,  evinced  by  sobs  and  tears,  that  at 
last,  the  Lamb  of  God  in  an  unbloody  manner  lay  before  them, — 
the  source  of  all  grace  to  men ;  or  that  of  the  ministers  personat- 
ing Jesus  Christ  in  the  most  high  and  awful  action,  permitted 
to  poor,  sinful  men.  If  ever  the  sons  of  St.  Vincent  had  brought 
to  the  divinest  of  actions,  grateful  hearts,  it  assuredly  was 
then;  for  in  those  days  of  sailing  western  rivers,  captains  and 
engineers  valued  human  Hfe,  alas!  but  of  little  account.  To 
head  off,  if  possible,  a  rival  boat,  condition  of  passengers  and 
condition  of  hull  they  recked  not.  Hence  the  surprise  that  often 
rushed  on  hundreds,  the  angel  of  death  hurling  his  weapons  of 
flame  and  fire  and  explosion  till 

"The  eyes  of  the  sleepers  were  deadly  and  chill; 
'Their  hearts  but  once  heaved  and  forever  grew  still." 

Moreover,  if  after  the  Sons  of  St.  Vincent  had  success  to 
their  labors,  at  heart,  with  all  earnestness  did  they  call  down 
the  blessings  of  the  Lamb,  over  the  vast  field  on  which  they 
stood;  for  they  recalled  easily  the  sentence  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
by  the  Apostle  Paul:  "Ego  plantavi;  Apollo  rigavit;  Deos 
autem  incrementum  dedit." — i   Cor.  3rd  Chapter  6th  verse. 

The  public  inauguration  of  the  La  Salle  Mission  was  an- 
nounced to  take  place  Passion  Sunday,  April  ist.  In  the  home 
of  William  Byrne,  as  they  walked  through  the  timbers,  they 
took  in  the  situation,  examining,  studying  the  most  successful 
method  to  follow  to  insure  success. 

Thus  the  Missioners  passed  the  remainder  of  the  week. 


CHAPTER   V. 

Per  aspra  ad  astra.     By  the  Cross  to  the  Crown. 

Had  the  men  who  were  making  Mr.  Byrne's  house  their 
home,  been  born  "of  blood,  or  of  the  will  of  flesh,  or  of  the  will 
of  man,"  the  day  after  that  of  their  arrival,  they  would  have 
witnessed  them  boarding  the  first  boat  for  St.  Louis,  and  thence 
to  the  "Barrens."  For  the  survey  of  the  surroundings  of  their 
abode,  was  anything  but  encouraging  to  the  mere  natural  ob- 
server— "the  animal  man." 

The  winter  had  not  yet  gone ;  frost  was  in  the  March  winds. 
Even  in  the  sheltered  valley  at  their  feet,  no  vegetation  to  cheer 
the  eye  and  throw  off  gloom  from  the  mind,  had  shot  forth. 
It  is  true,  hundreds  of  men  were  pushing  forward  the  canal. 
This  was  something  to  indicate  that  the  near  future  had  a 
marked  progress  in  store  for  the  spread  of  rehgion.  But  the 
western  bottom  lands,  from  the  Illinois  River,  up  to  the  ridge, 
and  fully  two  miles  westward  still,  to  the  upland  prairies,  what 
are  now  a  series  of  hives  of  industrial  energy  and  enterprise,  and 
full  of  promise  to  become  one  of  the  leading  cities  of  Illinois, 
were  then  a  forest  of  elms  and  cotton  wood,  various  species  of 
oak  and  hickory,  clumps  of  hazel,  an  occasional  attempt  at  a 
neat  dwelling,  log  cabins  and  shanties. 

Moreover,  the  consideration  of  the  vastness  of  the  field  to 
cultivate,  would  thicken  the  gloom  and  depress  the  spirit.  With- 
in its  boundaries  were  the  counties  of  La  Salle,  Lee,  Bureau, 
Grundy,  Henry,  Knox,  Stark,  Putnam,  Marshall,  Peoria,  Taze- 
well, McLean,  Sangamon,  Macoupin,  Cass — nearly  one-third  of 
56,000  square  miles — the  area  of  the  great  Illinois  state;  a 
mission  field  only  a  little  less  than  the  area  of  Scotland  and 
larger  than  Belgium  and  Holland  united.  Over  that  extensive 
area  were  scattered  a  multitude  of  "sheep  that  had  no  shepherd " 
— "the  needy  and  the  poor  in  search  of  waters  that  are  not, 
the  ways  of  Sion  mourning  and  clamoring  for  bread — and  none 
to  break  it  to  them."     Much,  certainly  there  was,  in  such  a 

(26) 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  27 

subject  of  thought,  for  men  filled  with  this  spirit  of  what  the 
ItaHans  name  "Far  niente,"  a  do  nothing,  to  fret  and  chafe  at. 
But  what,  more  than  all,  would  break  the  spirit  and  make  vic- 
tims of  sadness  and  misery,  was  the  stern  fact  that  resources  in 
any  way  proportionate  to  enter  and  carry  on  the  gigantic  work, 
were  not-money,  nor  influence,  nor  home,  nor  church.  Pilgrims 
and  strangers,  indeed!  But  stop!  "Horatio,  there  is  more  than 
is  dreamed  of  in  your  philosophy." 

The  selection  of  Fathers  Raho  and  Parodi  for  this  Mission, 
had  been  in  keeping  with  Father  Timon's  discernment  of  char- 
acter— an  extraordinary  gift  to  the  visitor,  a  gift  which  accom- 
panied him  in  his  wise  and  successful  administration  of  the 
diocese  of  Buffalo.  "All  to  gain  all,"  was  ever  the  principle 
laid  down  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Mission,  or  rather  by  their 
Father,  St.  Vincent  of  Paul.  The  practice  of  working  according 
to  this  principle  was  unmistakably  marked  in  the  apostolic  men 
of  the  days  to  which  we  refer.  They  had  the  spirit  of  the  mis- 
sion— they  were  not  skeletons.  The  natural  man  in  his  views, 
his  aim,  his  wants,  his  affections;  mourning  over  the  past,  im- 
patient at  the  present,  full  of  foreboding  for  the  future,  was, 
therefore,  not  known,  or  if  known,  not  recognized.  "When 
God  beholds  us  leaning  on  man  for  support.  He  Himself  with- 
draws from  us."  He  who  does  not  practice  outward  mortifi- 
cation will  be  mortified  neither  inwardly  nor  outwardly.  It 
is  a  great  misfortune  to  be  free  from  suffering  in  this  life."  How 
often  have  the  sons  of  St.  Vincent  heard  and  weighed  the  above 
maxims  of  their  founder?  They  were  now  in  their  lines  giving 
them  form  and  life.  For  five  months,  from  March  to  August, 
their  home  was  Wm.  Byrne's, — offered,  aye,  forced  in  the  spirit 
of  a  Christian  generosity  and  Irish  unselfish  hospitality,  to  accept. 
The  largest  room,  the  writer  so  well  remembers,  was  made  over 
to  the  distinguished  guests.  It  served  for  that  length  of  time 
the  several  purposes  of  bedroom,  sitting-room,  study  room,  re- 
ception room,  recreation  hall,  chapel,  except  on  Sundays  and 
holidays,  where  the  adorable  sacrifice  was  offered,  baptisms 
were  administered,  confessions  heard,  marriages  celebrated,  and 
the  sacred  vessels,  and  Holy  Oils  preserved.  Yet  the  Missioners 
enjoyed  only  the  appearance  of  a  home.  They  were  not,  nor 
could  they  feel  free  and  independent.  They  were  in  many  ways 
and  meanings  abroad.  "Carthusians  at  home,"  they  endeavored 
to  be,  for  the  order  of  the  day  followed  in  the  houses  of  the 


28  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

company,  hours  for  rising,  meditation,  office,  meals,  recreation, 
silence,  study,  retirement,  was  observed,  but  under  pressure, 
annoyances  and  distractions  of  various  kinds.  Then  the  inter- 
ests of  the  flock  which  are  manifold,  called  for  a  home,  screened 
from  the  public  eye,  whither  might  repair  that  large  number 
who  ever  need  a  faithful  friend,  a  wise  counsellor,  and  a  loving 
father.  There  the  poor  should  be  relieved,  the  wretched  made 
happy,  the  ignorant  instructed,  the  doubtful  assured,  the  weak 
supported,  the  timid  encouraged,  quarrels  subdued  and  enmities 
reconciled.  But  all  that  the  house  of  prayer  and  the  sacrifice 
means,  which  the  glory  of  God  lights  up,  and  the  majesty  of 
God  fills,  and  the  love  of  God  inflames,  where  the  fountains  ever 
run  to  refresh  the  just,  to  heal  the  sinner,  and  to  give  rest  to  the 
weary  and  heavy  laden  is  wanting,  unless  the  spot  consecrated 
by  the  unbloody  sacrifice,  whether  on  the  wave's  crest  or  under 
the  spreading  tree,  or  in  a  hall  over  a  public  house,  or  in  a  board- 
ing-house, or  in  a  room  of  a  log  cabin  may  be  named  a  chapel  or 
a  church. 

At  any  time  the  Missioners  could  have  these,  but  there  was 
no  permanency,  no  home  for  God,  no  special  house  consecrated 
by  blessing  for  the  real  presence  of  "  Jesu  Sacramentato  "  and  ever 
open  to  His  visitors  and  adorers.  The  want  of  a  church  was  the 
chief  trial  from  which  the  Fathers  suffered  and  the  poverty  that 
sorely  harassed  them.  They  recalled  the  loving  complaint  of 
the  great  High  Priest,  similarly  situated:  "The  foxes  of  the 
earth  have  their  dens,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  their  nests,  but 
the  son  of  man  hath  not  whereon  to  lay  his  head." — St.  Luke, 
Chap.  9th,  Verse  58  . 

Friday,  the  30th  of  March  they  began  their  labors,  privately 
in  the  large  room  of  their  hospitable  host  by  offering  the  Adorable 
Mass,  first  the  Superior  and  then  the  assistant  confrere.  "Dur- 
ing the  day  Father  Raho  was  called  to  baptize  privately,  in 
danger  of  death.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  first  record 
of  baptism  entered  on  the  first  book  of  baptismal  records  kept 
of  the  La  Salle  Mission : 

1838. 
Die  30,  Martii:     Ego  infraseriptus  ob  periculum  mortis  absque 

consuetis  cerernoniis  baptivzai 

Patritii         infantem  natum  die  24  Februarii  * 

Cryberry      hujus  anni,  filium  Annae 

Corberry cui  imposuinonen  * 

Patritii.  I.  B.  Raho,  Congnis,  Miss. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  29 

Saturday,  31st  of  March,  their  usual  duties  engaged  a  por- 
tion of  time,  baptism  another  portion,  and  the  remainder  was 
given  to  making  arrangements  to  insure  the  success  of  the  mor- 
row. Passion  Sunday,  April  ist,  the  opening  day  of  their  great 
work.  The  wise  heads  of  the  colony,  led  by  WilHam  Byrne, 
were  on  hand  to  offer  their  advice  as  to  the  fittest  hall  in  every 
way  for  the  public  celebration  of  the  Divine  mysteries.  It  was 
decided  to  obtain  if  possible,  the  largest  room  in  the  boarding- 
house  of  Johnny  Hynes.  The  latter  gentleman  was  approached, 
and  the  request  made  to  him  to  lend  his  hall  to  the  Lord  was  not 
only  granted,  but  never  did  Johnny  feel  so  rich,  so  highly  distin- 
guished. He  was  the  proudest  man  in  the  Christendom  of  the 
La  Salle  country,  that  he  was  in  circumstances  to  make  his 
home  a  temporary  chapel;  and  it  was  the  boast  of  his  life,  that 
he  had  been  the  prime  mover  to  organize  a  choir,  and  the  most 
energetic  worker  to  further  its  progress. 

Passion  Sunday,  the  inauguration  day  of  the  Mission,  beau- 
tiful in  the  physical,  but  far  more  beautiful  and  tender  and  com- 
passionate in  the  moral.  What  a  happy  coincidence  of  events! 
Passion-tide,consecrated  to  meditation  on  the  sufferings  of  the 
God- Man,  and  the  Mission  surrounded  with  difficulties,  and  full 
of  promise  for  the  due  share  of  the  cross,  which  now  publicly 
opened!  "We  preach  Jesus  Christ  crucified  for  the  weak- 
ness of  God  is  stronger  than  man." — i  Cor.  i  chap.  "He  is  not 
uselessly  wearied  by  whom  the  wearied  are  refreshed.  The 
sufferings  of  Christ  has  so  rendered  it,  that  what  was,  should 
not  perish." — St.  Augustine. 

When  the  Mission  had  been  accepted,  and  the  confreres  had 
been  appointed  and  sent,  did  the  season  of  the  Passion  on  which 
to  open  the  Mission,  the  work  of  soul-saving,  occurred  to  the  mind 
of  the  visitor,  or  the  Missioners.  It  had  ever  been  the  conduct 
of  the  old  Confreres  when  about  to  launch  into  any  spiritual 
or  temporal  enterprise,  to  make  a  start  on  one  or  other 
festival  of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  holy  mother,  or  of  a  saint. 
Moreover,  the  very  name  of  the  first  church  of  the  La  Salle 
Mission  would  bear  was  that  of  the  most  Holy  Cross.  On  the 
principal  street  of  the  village,  stood  the  large  frame  boarding- 
house  of  Hynes.  The  room,  the  length  of  the  building,  was 
festooned  with  cypress  twigs,  and  the  altar  was  neatly  dressed, 
and  ready  for  the  holy  mass.     The  village  was  thronged  with 


30  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

canallers  and  farmers,  hurrying  to  the  temporary  chapel.  The 
room  was  filled  and  the  door  and  windows  were  open  to  carry 
the  blessings  of  the  mass  to  the  large  bulk  of  the  people, wor- 
shiping out  on  the  sidewalk.  Father  Parodi  began  the  adorable 
sacrifice  at  eleven  o'clock. 

As  soon  as  the  first  gospel  was  finished,  the  celebrant  sat 
down;  and  the  preacher.  Father  Raho,  facing  the  crowd  of 
eager,  reverential  Irish  Catholic  faces,  laid  first  before  them 
the  regulations  to  be  observed  to  secure  good  order  and  success 
in  the  government  of  the  Mission,  until  the  church  would  be 
built  and  occupied.  "On  week  days  we  offered  the  holy  mass 
in  our  common  room,  (the  home  of  Wm.  Byrne) ;  on  Sundays, 
in  fine  weather,  in  the  forest ;  and  in  bad  weather,  in  the  house 
of  John  Hynes."  The  hours  most  convenient  for  the  people 
for  mass  were  seven  o'clock  on  week  days,  eight  and  one  o'clock 
on  Sundays  and  festivals,  from  Easter  until  November;  from 
November  until  Easter  eight-thirty  and  ten-thirty.  The  people 
might  approach  the  holy  Tribunal  of  Penance  at  any  time  of 
the  day.  Sick  calls  would  be,  if  possible,  always  in  the  day, 
for  the  perils  of  the  wilderness,  in  bottom,  woodland  and  prairie, 
of  swollen  creeks  and  rivers  were  many;  and  not  one,  but  many 
self-sacrificing  Missioners,  owing  to  the  want  of  thought  of  some 
in  leading  the  priest  out  at  unseasonable  hours,  and  on  unneces- 
sary calls,  had  shortened  their  career,  by  consumption,  the  result 
of  severe  colds,  by  drowning,  by  ungovernable  horses  and  other 
ways.  The  Mission  would  never  be  left  without  a  priest.  The 
sermon  followed  the  regulations. 

"I  took  for  my  text,"  writes  the  good  Father  to  Superior 
General  Nozo,  at  Paris,  in  his  letter,  October  20th,  1838,  "Peace 
be  to  you,  and  discoursed  on  correspondence  to  grace.  I  was 
moved  at  the  sight  before  me.  Such  recollection  and  deep 
silence  and  close  attention!" 

The  sermon  over,  the  celebrant  continued  and  finished  the 
holy  sacrifice,  and  gave  with  the  pyxis  benediction  of  the  ador- 
able sacrament.  At  the  hands  of  the  Superior,  thirty  babes 
received  the  sacrament  of  baptism.  The  first  great  day  of  the 
Mission  thus  came  and  went,  leaving  impressions  on  the  young 
and  old,  joyful  and  happy. 

The  work  of  God  went  on.  The  private  room  on  week  days 
was  the  scene  of  many  a  conquest  won  over  to  God  by  holy  mass, 
and  baptism  and  confession  and  communion  and  reconciliation 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  31 

of  enemies.     The  time  of  the  fathers  was  put  to  the  best  of 
profit  for  God  and  souls. 

Consecrated  "ad  salutem  pauperum  rusticanorum,"  they 
mingled  with  the  poor,  and  reached  their  hearts.  The  condition 
temporal  and  spiritual  of  each  adult,  they  began  to  take  in. 

Holy  week  opened;  but  the  circumstances  of  Missioners 
and  people  hindered  the  performance  of  the  richest  and  most 
touching  ceremonial. 

Each  ceremony  pointed  a  mystery  to  be  adored,  and  a  lesson 
to  be  learned.  Once  more,  this  time  on  Palm  Sunday,  the  tem- 
porary church,  the  hotel  of  Mr.  John  Hynes,  wore  a  very  gay 
aspect.  Hemlock  and  cypress  garlands  arranged  in  various 
figures,  speaking  mottoes,  appropriate  to  the  day  of  triumph, 
graced  the  hall. 

The  audience  was  even  larger  than  on  Passion  Sunday. 
Many  non-Catholics,  or  as  they  prefer  in  the  United  States  the 
name  of  separated  brethren,  had  assembled;  for  as  a  rule,  where 
the  Catholic  population  is  in  the  majority,  and  well-behaved, 
and  the  priest  is  a  live  missionary,  the  separated  brethren  assist 
on  special  occasions,  and,  with  marked  attention  and  gravity, 
at  the  services  of  our  holy  religion.  The  ceremony  of  blessing 
the  palms  was  performed  by  the  celebrant.  Father  Parodi, 
assisted  by  Father  Raho.     The  mass  followed. 

At  its  conclusion  the  meaning  of  blessing  the  palms  was 
given,  after  which  they  were  then  distributed.  All  received 
them — the  faithful  with  lively  faith — those  not  of  the  fold,  no 
doubt,  with  strange  and  curious  ideas  and  feelings,  yet  with 
decorum. 

"The  crowd  of  Catholics  and  Protestants  that  assembled  was 
immense,  and  all  without  distinction  received  the  palms.  During 
the  week,  we  saw  Catholics,  and  even  Protestants,  carrying  the 
palms  in  their  hats  or  as  a  badge  on  the  lapel  of  their  coats." 
— Letter  of  Father  Raho,  Vol.  5th,  of  Annals. 

The  fit  celebration  of  the  sacred  Triduum  could  not,  it  was 
plain,  take  place.  The  office  Tenebrae,  that  arouses  the  spirit 
and  acts  upon  the  hearts  of  the  pious,  and  repentant  sinners, 
had  to  be  dispensed  with.  The  tomb  or  sepulchre,  the  gleam 
of  sunshine,  in  the  church  so  attractive  and  dear  to  the  Catholic 
soul  in  the  awful  hours  of  abandonment  of  Holy  Thursday  and 
Good  Friday,  was  out  of  reckoning. 

Sixty  communicants  would,  as  they  did  in  honor  of  Him 


32  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

"who  loved  them  to  the  end,"  by  instituting  the  pledge  of  eter- 
nal life,  to  remain  with  men  forever,  receive  on  Maundy  Thursday 
their  sacramental  God,  they  would  assemble  for  the  touching 
ceremonies  of  that  Friday,  the  "Good,"  above  all  others,  to 
adore,  to  kiss,  in  out-bursts  of  grief — "the  wood  on  which  the 
Savior  of  the  world  hung."  For,  devotion  to  the  cross  in  the 
character  of  the  Irish  Catholic,  from  the  hour  of  faith,  had 
ever  been  a  distinctive  trait.  Meditation  on  the  sufferings  of 
the  Man-God,  has  made  light  for  millions  of  hearts,  what  would 
have  proved,  by  reason  of  the  unrelenting  and  cruel  misgovern- 
ment  of  Ireland  by  England,  an  unsupportable  burden.  Holy 
Saturday,  with  its  glorious  ceremonial,  received  only  that  atten- 
tion which  was  necessary  in  the  blessing  of  the  font,  the  cele- 
bration of  the  mass  of  the  Resurrection  and  a  crowded  con- 
fessional in  the  evening. 

The  triumph  of  the  risen  God  was  celebrated  by  one  hundred 
and  forty  feeding  on  the  Paschal  Lamb,  and  by  increasing  wor- 
shippers to  their  own  delight  and  that  of  their  fathers.  This, 
after  all,  was  the  real  work  to  plant  deeply,  at  the  very  outset, 
the  seed  of  solid  piety,  to  lay  broad  and  lasting  foundations  in 
what  was  destined  to  become  the  fruitful  mother  church  of 
western  and  southwestern  Illinois. 

A  thorough  training  of  a  people,  at  the  start  of  a  mission,  in 
what  they  owe  God,  and  the  church,  instructing  them  how  to 
close  their  relations  are  to  Him  and  to  Her;  that  whilest  He, 
the  Creator,  the  Redeemer,  the  sanctifier  of  men,  can  live  with- 
out His  creatures,  they  cannot  exist  and  live  without  His  power, 
and  independent  of  His  authority,  and  therefore  of  his  church. 
People  who  receive  the  faith  right  and  not  crooked,  setting  a 
real  value  on  grace  and  on  the  priesthood  the  instrument,  the 
channel  through  which  grace  flows,  are  whole-souled,  lavish  of 
their  means,  princely  in  their  offerings,  to  support  their  pastors, 
and  to  build  and  adorn  homes,  to  make  everlasting  the  blessing 
of  the  true  religion. 

As  day  followed  day  the  zeal  of  the  Missioners,  quickened 
as  the  desires  of  the  people  to  build  a  house  to  God,  grew  in- 
tensely. Projects  were  pushed  forward,  plans  conceived,  to  put 
up  a  building,  in  keeping  with  the  condition  of  people  and  sur- 
roundings. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

//  Charity  is  a  Fire  Zeal  is  its  Flame. 

St.  Vincent  of  Paul. 

The  season  of  the  Spring  had  opened  full  of  promise :  Easter, 
April  isth,  1838,  had  given  the  guarantee  that  "Jam  hiems 
transit,  imber  abiit  et  recessit,"  "Winter  had  passed,  the  frost 
had  gone  and  disappeared."  "To  take  time  by  the  forelock" 
was  now  the  order. 

The  Missioners  would  devote  all  the  time  at  their  disposal, 
to  go  on  begging  errands  for  the  projected  house  of  God.  The 
burden  of  that  most  diihcult  and  unthankful  of  duties,  which 
priests  are  obliged  to  discharge,  to  build  up  religion  in  a  new 
country,  where  the  church  has  no  state  patronage,  or  endow- 
ment, where  her  children,  as  a  rule,  live  from  hand  to  mouth, 
and  are  thrown  amongst  all  so-called  creeds  and  sects,  lay 
chiefly  upon  the  Superior  Father  Raho.  The  good  Father 
Parodi's  principle  was :  "It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  take." 
An  admirable  principle  of  Christian  philanthropy,  that  has  ever 
been  applied  in  all  ages  of  the  church  to  the  needy  and  the  poor. 

The  church  of  the  catacombs,  and  the  church  of  triumph 
had  never  forgotten  this  principle  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  She  would 
have  the  poor  always  with  her,  and  when  necessary,  had  ever 
her  silver  and  gold  vessels  to  relieve  the  suffering  members 
of  her  Savior.  But  the  principle  also  that  "the  laborer  is  worthy 
of  his  hire,"  is,  where  it  can  be  applied,  as  strict  as  that  the 
church' must  meet  the  demands  of  the  faithful.  The  duty  is 
reciprocal.  "We  give  you  spiritual,  give  in  return  temporal," 
is  the  commandment  given  and  insisted  upon  since  Apostolic 
times. 

To  build  churches,  schools,  asylums,  to  support  and  educate 
the  clergy,  to  meet  every  demand  of  the  church,  are  the  obli- 
gations of  the  faithful.  To  connive  at,  or  directly  allow  the 
faithful  to  shirk  this  responsibility,  when  they  are  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances, or  ,  at  all  able,  is  to  give  a  training  to  the  faithful, 

(33) 


34  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

contrary  to  common  sense,  Christian  duty,  and  the  interests 
of  rehgion;  so  that  the  consequence  will  again  follow,  as  it  has 
oftentimes,  that  the  faithful  become  impertinent  in  their  de- 
mands on  the  priest  or  missioner — nolens- volens ;  considering 
themselves  free  from  duty  to  support  the  ministers  of  God; 
and,  hence,  refusing  to  have  a  care  of,  and  to  maintain  the 
church,  bishops  and  superiors  of  orders,  have  to  be  driven  to 
recall  justly  the  ministers  of  faith,  from  such  unreasonable  and 
niggardly  missions. 

Above,  far  and  beyond,  all  Catholic  nations,  the  Irish  had 
ever  set  a  high  value  on  the  services  of  Holy  Faith;  above  all 
among  those  who  had  lived  near  to,  and  had  constant  communi- 
cation with  the  practices  of  the  church,  Father  Raho  on  his  days 
of  collecting  along  the  canal,  at  the  boarding  houses  or 
shanties,  had  comparatively  an  easy  time  to  obtain  what  he 
sought.  The  smile  that  greeted  him  from  the  housewife  or 
boarding  mistress,  or  men  assured  him:  "Your  Reverence  is 
welcome,"  and  the  shake  of  the  hand  followed.  On  one  of  his 
rambles  along  the  canal,  he  fell  in  with  a  wealthy  contractor, 
president  of  a  bank  of  issue  at  La  Salle.  Mr.  A.  H.  Bangs,  such 
was  his  name,  received  Father  Raho  with  much  courtesy,  and 
heard  with  eager  satisfaction  the  missioner's  narrative  of  what 
the  Catholics  intended  to  do,  by  the  way  of  procuring  ground, 
erecting  a  church  and  missionary  residence.  Highly  approving 
of  the  purposes  of  the  priest,  Bangs  then  and  there  made  out 
and  handed  to  the  simple  missioner  a  deed  for  an  acre  of  land, 
giving  at  the  same  time  his  note  for  $500.00,  (2,500)  francs,  as  an 
additional  donation  for  the  like  purpose.  His  gifts  were  very 
princely — on  paper.  The  object  duped — the  good  father  himself 
— will  tell  his  own  story,  hold  up  to  the  light  of  modem  people, 
the  character  of  Bangs,  the  first  cheat  and  blood  sucker  who  had 
so  cruelly  outraged  the  people  of  La  Salle  and  Peru. 

'  Seeing  we  could  not  continue  without  a  church,  day  and 
night  I  was  wrapped  up  in  thought.  At  first  everything  seemed 
to  smile  upon  the  enterprise.  A  Protestant  gave  his  word  for 
an  acre  of  ground  and  for  $500.00.  Other  Protestants,  desirous 
to  rival  our  Catholics  in  zeal,  showed  themslves  very  clever 
in  their  contributions.  The  number  of  brick  necessary  for  the 
church,  had  been  ordered:  all  things  were  ready;  and  as  I  was 
about  to  commence  the  buildings,  news  came  that  the  ground 
given  did  not  belong  to  the  giver  (Bangs),  and  that  this  fellow, 


STORY  OP  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  35 

far  from  being  prepared  to  send  me  the  promised  sum,  $500.00, 
had  fled  the  country,  carrying  away  $9000.00,  the  hard  earnings 
of  the  poor  canallers  he  had  employed;  and  therefore,  the  con- 
tributions promised  by  these  good  people."     Vol  5th  of  Annals. 

Eye  witnesses  still  living  declare  that  Bangs,  the  imposter, 
being  caught,  an  enraged  people  inflicted  the  punishment  of 
tarring  and  feathering  the  swindler.  Yet  the  Catholic  spirit 
prevailed  for  the  natural  spirit,  had  either  thrown  the  murderer 
into  the  river,  or  summoned  Judge  Lynch  to  hang  him  on  the 
first  tree.  Thomas  Cavanaugh  with  Captain  Kennedy  saved  the 
criminal.  The  effect  of  the  rascality  of  Bangs  on  the  hundreds 
of  the  poor  laborers  of  La  Salle  and  Peru,  bowed  down  with 
grief  the  good  Fathers.  But  why  pine,  drivel  out  an  existence 
over  what  can  not  be  avoided.  "Virtue  is  perfected  in  weak- 
ness." 

Theirs  was  not  the  character  to  allow  the  courage,  the  bravery 
of  men  tried  by  the  like  fraud  and  treachery  to  excel  Christian 
fortitude.     Nothing  truer  than 

"The  sun  has  hid  its  rays 

These  many  days, 

Will  dreary  hours  never  leave  the  earth? 

Oh!  doubting  heart 

The  stormy  clouds  on  high 

Veil  the  same  sunny  sky, 

That  noon,  (for  spring  is  nigh) , 

Shall  wake  the  summer  into  golden  mirth." 

Into  the  sorrow-stricken  hearts  of  the  poor  generous  Irish 
Catholics  of  La  Salle,  they  poured  out  a  soothing  balm.  They 
recalled  the  words  of  St.  Vincent,  uttered  on  an  occasion  when 
similar  and  more  grievous  losses  befell  the  missioners  and  people. 
"Let  us  thank  God  for  this  affair,  for  the  loss  of  this  property, 
and  for  the  disposition  He  has  given  us  to  accept  this  loss  for 
His  love.  The  loss  is  great,  but  His  adorable  wisdom  will  know 
how  to  turn  it  to  our  good! 

The  times  were  good ;  and  though  the  population  lived  from 
hand  to  mouth,  furnishing  the  very  best  the  market  had,  de- 
pending on  the  work  of  the  canal  which  might  come  to  suspend 
for  want  of  appropriations,  as  it  proved  three  years  afterwards; 
yet  the  losses  they  had  sustained,  would  easily  be  borne,  and  a 
little  would  be  put  by  for  erecting  the  house  of  God.  A  church 
every  one  exclaimed,  must  be  built.  The  idea  of  erecting  a 
brick  church  in  La  Salle  a  half  a  century  ago,  was  an  idea  too 


36  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION 

high  to  entertain  seriously — not  feasible  for  missioners  and 
people.  Old  Horace's  maxim:  "Nesutor  ultra  crepidam,"  has 
been  done  into  English  by  the  Irish  people:  "Cut  the  coat  to 
the  cloth."  What  objection  would  or  could  be  reasonably  made 
to  a  log  church?  For  durableness — here  and  there  through  the 
forest,  what  is  now  acres  of  neat  and  stately  mansions,  stood 
log  cabins,  older  than  many  of  the  flock,  and  the  timbers  of 
which  had  stood  the  mettle  of  the  storm,  and  sweep  of  the  tor- 
nado not  uncommon  along  the  western  rivers,  since  the  days 
of  Marquette  and  La  Salle. 

Was  comfort  questioned?  Experience  in  the  old  log  seminary 
of  Saint  Mary's,  the  Mother  House  at  the  Barrens,  and  in  the 
cabin  of  their  host,  had  taught  the  missioners  that  few  con- 
structions, when  properly  laid  down  and  put  together  for  solidity, 
ease  and  charms  of  home,  could  surpass  a  log  building.  Was 
the  cost  of  erecting  a  log  church  taken  into  consideration?  It 
would  not  be  heavy.  The  material  in  timber  was  on  the  bottom 
and  uplands;  groves  of  elm,  white  and  black  oak.  The  labor 
of  felling,  hauling,  and  hewing  would  be  largely  and  generously 
given;  thatching  and  plastering  would  only  be  an  item;  and  at 
comparatively  small  cost,  the  structure  to  God  and  souls  would 
rise.  The  feat  of  Bangs  had  driven  completely  the  idea  of  a 
brick  church  out  of  the  mind  of  Father  Raho.  Had  the  naturally 
keen  and  observing  Superior  attempted  to  carry  out  a  brick 
plan,  he  was  thoroughly  aware  he  would  have  played  with  his 
usual  good  sense,  have  exposed  his  community  to  ridicule,  and 
have  laid  on  his  company  and  people  a  burden  of  debt,  which 
would  have  checked  indefinitely  the  rising  mission.  The  con- 
tract of  building  the  church  was  let  out  to  Mr.  Madden,  the  chief 
carpenter  in  the  mission,  not  without  pretentions  to  a  style  of 
architecture  quite  original.  The  material  for  building  was  to 
be  of  log,  roof  straw,  flooring  of  oak,  and  the  interior  heavily 
plastered.  The  length  was  to  be  fifty  feet,  width  thirty,  and 
height  fourteen.  The  home  of  the  missioners  would  go  up  at 
the  completion;  built  of  the  same  material;  one  story  high, 
containing  a  room,  serving  at  the  same  time  for  private  devotions 
and  for  a  sacristy — a  large  room,  at  once  dormitory,  study  room, 
reception  room,  and  a  kitchen.  By  August,  Madden,  the  archi- 
tect, who  "lives  in  song  and  story,"  stipulated  that  the  church 
and  house  would  be  ready  for  use. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  37 

The  canal  company  donated  the  land.  The  resources  were 
at  hand  to  commence — the  sum  of  twelve  dollars. 

Never  did  a  wealthy  syndicate  enter  on  an  undertaking  with 
more  confidence  and  vigorous  energy,  than  did  our  confreres  the 
work  of  the  log  church.  Viewed,  it  is  true,  from  a  human  stand- 
point, to  attempt  such  an  undertaking,  was  the  height  of  folly. 
The  twelve  dollars,  under  the  influence  of  the  men  of  God,  would 
increase,  as  did  formerly  the  oil  under  the  holy  influence  of  the 
prophet.  With  the  generousness  of  the  Mother  House  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Mission  of  Paris,  and  the  wits  of  the  willing 
hearts  of  La  Salle  and  Peru,  the  church  at  the  appointed  time, 
would  be  up  and  paid  for. 

A  gang  of  men  was  immediately  set  to  work  getting  out  white 
and  black  oak  timbers,  which,  fastened  by  log  chains,  yokes 
of  cattle  hauled  to  the  determined  church  site.  There  they 
were  dressed  and  fitted  to  be  laid.  The  building  was  on  the  way ; 
Father  Parodi,  as  far  as  he  could,  would  keep  an  observant  eye 
on  the  work,  with  as  much  interest  and  zeal,  as  he  did  on  the 
far  more  necessary  spiritual  building,  the  souls  of  the  flock; 
for  the  Superior  had  determined  to  start  to  survey  the  great 
mission  field,  to  look  after  the  thousands  who  needed  and  awaited 
the  succors  of  Heaven,  and  were  unable  by  physical  and  moral 
causes,  to  reach  La  Salle,  the  center  of  the  Mission.  Indeed 
the  Ordinary  of  the  diocese,  when  blessing  the  Missions,  on  occa- 
sion of  their  departure  for  the  upper  Illinois  country,  bade  them 
lose  no  time,  as  soon  as  Religion  had  been  established  at  La 
Salle,  to  push  forward,  not  only  along  the  canal,  miles  eastward, 
but  also  to  follow  the  Illinois  River  southward;  to  leave  the 
stream  and  cross  the  prairies,  to  penetrate  wheresoever,  it  was 
learned  there  was  a  Catholic  squatter. 

Such  a  journey,  or  rather  series  of  journeys,  extended  at  a 
time  from  a  week's  to  a  month's  absence,  would  be  tr^ang,  upon 
the  character  of  the  Fathers  for  they  were  never  before  separated, 
but  ever  in  the  company  of  each  other,  to  edify,  to  pass  the  hours 
of  recreation,  now  in  serious,now  in  humorous  conversation: 
always  the  happier  and  readier  for  labor  when  leaving,  than  when 
they  began  to  converse. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OTTAWA. 
The  Oldest  Daughter  of  the  La  Salle  Mission. 

At  pius  Aneas, 

Ut  primum  lux  alma  data  ast,  exire  locosque  explorare  novos, 

Qui  teneant,  num  inculta  videt,  hominisque 

Feraene,  quaerere  constituet. 

But  the  loving  Ji^neas,  as  soon  as  the  rosy  morn  appeared, 
started  out  to  examine  the  newly  discovered  territory,  who 
inhabited  it,  men  or  wild  beasts.     Virgils  Aeneid  Book  ist. 

The  great  apostle  St.  Paul  gives  an  invitation  to  his  beloved 
Philippians,  and  in  these  persons  to  all  Christians,  "to  see  the 
length,  and  the  breadth,  and  the  height,  and  the  depth  of  the 
love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  A  special  invitation 
stands  to  the  Missionary,  given  not  only  by  the  great  apostle, 
but  by  the  Lord  of  all.  "Let  him  who  serves  Me,  follow  Me." 
"I  come  to  cast  fire  upon  the  earth  and  what  will  I,  but  that  it 
be  enkindled."  What  a  fire  aglow  with  incomparable  splendor, 
sending  forth  its  sheets  of  flame  to  an  endless  duration  in  its 
boundlessness  embracing  the  entire  human  family  of  all  ages,  in 
its  elevation  of  purpose  and  in  its  depth  immeasurable,  consumed 
the  heart  of  the  great  Redeemer.  No  physical  boundary  of 
valley,  mountain  and  deep  that  the  flames  of  that  heart  did  not 
pass. 

No  boundaries  traced  by  rank  of  wealth,  of  intellect,  of  in- 
fluence; no  ease  and  comforts,  hope  of  gain  or  fear  of  loss  that 
the  flames  did  not  despise;  no  relations  of  flesh  and  of  blood, 
that  the  flames  did  not  consume.  The  Divine  exemplar  in  the 
work  of  soul-saving  to  which  He  called  His  Missionaries,  insisted 
that  their  nature  would  be  aglow  with  the  heat  of  the  love  of 
God,  and  radiant  with  the  flame  of  love  for  neighbor,  if  they 
would  appear  faithful  copies  of  the  Original,  in  all  the  attributes 
of  love. 

Fifteen  miles  eastward  of  La  Salle  village,  lay  Ottawa,  the 

(38) 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  39 

capitol  of  La  Salle  County,  situated  on  the  Fox  and  Illinois 
Rivers,  and  through  which  the  new  canal  ran.  It  was  then, 
1838,  a  rising  town;  it  had  its  court  house,  a  few  houses  that 
did  a  fair  business,  and  it  claimed  and  felt  pride  in  owning  a 
fair  sample  of  the  cultured  men  of  Illinois  in  that  day.  An  in- 
telligent public  spirit,  where  the  absence  of  narrowness,  and 
bigotry  was  enjoyed  as  a  relief,  was  very  noticeable  too,  and  highly 
valued  by  the  man  of  large  and  practical  knowledge,  as  the 
Catholic  Missionary.  The  gifts  with  which  nature  had  clothed 
this  spot  had  everything  to  do  with  making  choice  of  it  as  a  center 
for  the  legal  talent  of  early  and  late  times.  Bordered  on  the 
north  and  south  by  sloping  timber  lands,  on  the  west  by  Buffalo 
Rock,  which  in  the  last  century  had  been  an  island  of  the  Illi- 
nois, with  meadows  of  fruitfulness  surrounding,  and  the  canal 
and  the  Fox  and  the  Illinois  rivers  dividing  it  now  at  right 
angles,  now  in  parallel  lines,  the  little  western  town  might  well 
be  vain  of  its  site,  and  picturesque  attractions.  Here  the  sports- 
man, angler  or  hunter,  found  enjoyment  to  gratify  his  longing, 
and  occasion  to  answer  the  proudest  wish  of  his  nature,  for  the 
limpidness  of  the  streams,  and  the  hundred  coverts  of  the  hills 
and  the  bottoms  abounded  in  game  of  all  kinds. 

The  canal  as  at  La  Salle,  had  attracted  to  Ottawa,  a 
number  of  Irish  Catholics;  but  a  leader  of  character,  and 
a  self-sacrificing  Catholic,  who  regards  the  Roman  Catholic 
Religion,  as  the  powerful  and  only  true  method  of  real  pro- 
gress, as  La  Salle  had  in  the  person  of  William  Byrne,  was 
wanting.  Pressing  demands  to  come  on  the  part  of  not  a  few 
of  the  poor  people  had  been  made  on  the  Missionaries,  as  soon 
as  it  had  been  noised  abroad  that  La  Salle  was  blessed  in  their 
arrival.  On  a  hired  horse,  with  bags  filled  with  the  useful  and 
the  necessary  articles,  to  the  proper  discharge  of  Missionary  func- 
tions, thrown  across  the  saddle,  Father  Raho  set  out  April  21st, 
'38 — Easter  Sunday — for  Ottawa,  taking  the  northern  bluff 
road,  which  ran  through  the  timber,  so  marked  by  notched  trees 
that  the  dullest  rider,  if  he  attempted  to  stray,  would  be  cor- 
rected by  the  sagacity  of  his  horse.  He  made  the  journey  in 
good  time,  and  found  the  good  people  on  hand  to  welcome  him. 
The  Missioner  quartered  himself  in  a  hotel,  and  boarded  his 
horse  in  the  stable  attached.  Impelled  by  generousness,  a  virtue 
so  conspicuous  in  the  character  of  the  American,  the  non-Catholic 
authorities  of  the  town  called  upon,  and  offered  Father  Raho 


40  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

the  court  house  to  hold  service  on  the  following  Sunday,  assuring 
him  that  he  would  have  the  same  at  his  service  on  every  like 
occasion,  until  such  time  as  the  Catholics  would  have  a  place 
of  worship,  to  call  their  own.  The  offer  was  most  gratefully 
accepted  by  the  Missioner  in  his  and  in  the  name  of  the  Catholics 
of  Ottawa. 

A  crowded  house,  promptly  at  ten  o'clock  A.  M.  on  Low 
Sunday  raised  the  spirits  and  warmed  the  hearts  of  Flock  and 
Shepherd.  After  blessing  the  hall  in  preparation  for  the  sacred 
mysteries,  the  priest  began  Mass.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  first 
gospel  he  turned  towards  his  auditory,  a  mixed  congregation 
of  Catholics  and  non-Catholic  brethren,  an  ordinary  for  the 
priest  and  people,  in  the  early  times,  and  explained  the  power 
of  forgiving  sins,  as  taught  by  Christ  and  his  Church.  The  gos- 
pel read  on  the  Sunday  furnished  the  subject  of  the  discourse, 
in  the  style  of  the  preacher  ,  earnest,  argumentative,  and  prac- 
tical; and  though  an  Italian,  the  courage  with  which  he  tried 
to  speak  the  language  of  Shakespeare,  so  utterly  in  its  origin 
and  pronunciation  foreign  to  the  origin  and  pronunciation  of 
the  language  of  the  divine  Dante,  carried  away  the  audience, 
and  sowed  the  seeds  of  conversion  to  the  church  of  forgiveness  , 
of  sins.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  discourse,  in  a  few  well  digested 
words,  he  spoke  his  satisfaction  at  witnessing  such  a  gathering 
of  Catholics,  assuring  them,  that  until  his  band  of  Missioners 
would  increase,  he  would  do  his  utmost  to  attend,  with  the  little 
force  at  his  command,  to  all  their  spiritual  wants,  that  at  their 
disposal  every  month,  they  would  have  a  Sunday  evening  for 
confession,  and  a  Sunday  for  hearing  the  holy  Mass,  and  that  the 
sick  had  the  service  of  the  Father  at  all  times.  Such  were  the 
regulations  and  the  conclusion  of  what  the  Missioner  had  pur- 
posed to  say.  The  holy  sacrifice  continued  and  ended.  The 
wearied  father  refreshed  himself.  The  hours  that  remained  were 
spent  to  great  advantage,  in  inquiry  and  observation.  As  far 
as  possible,  the  number  of  Catholics,  how  they  lived,  what  they 
did,  the  zealous  Missioner  ascertained.  Not  a  day  too  soon  had 
the  man  of  God  come  to  town,  to  strengthen  the  faith  of  the 
weak,  and  to  console  the  faith  of  the  strong;  for  through  the 
evil  example  of  an  unfortunate  priest  all  were  in  sorrow,  and  a 
few  on  the  verge  of  abandoning  the  religion  of  their  fathers. 

"I  find  like  dispositions,  for  piety  and  devotion,  everywhere 
except  at  Ottawa;    where  Catholics  and  Protestants  have  been 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  41 

scandalized  at  the  wretched  behavior  of  a  priest  of  another  dio- 
cese, who  had  been  suspended  and  excommunicated  by  his 
bishop,  and  had  found  his  way  among  these  good  people."  Vol. 
ist,  No.  6  of  Annals. 

The  first  visit  to  the  Catholics  of  the  capitol  of  La  Salle 
County,  had  determined  the  Father  to  follow  up  directly  the 
work  entered  upon. 

The  clever  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  Company  gave  in 
fee  simple,  to  the  fathers  for  the  erection  of  a  church,  a  lot  120 
by  60  feet;  meanwhile  Father  Parodi  bought  for  a  temporary 
church,  a  carpenter  shop  for  $230.00.  To  allow  the  first  seed  cast 
to  become  chilled  and  to  spoil  through  want  of  the  pure  air  and 
the  dews,  the  presence  of  the  church  conveys  to  the  plant,  would 
have  been,  in  the  then  condition  of  the  Ottawa  Catholics,  ship- 
wreck of  their  faith. 

Returned  to  La  Salle,  Father  Raho  gave  a  detailed  account 
to  Father  Parodi,  his  confrere,  of  how  matters  in  Ottawa  stood, 
and  appointed  the  assistant  to  assume  charge  of  the  out-mission, 
telling  him  the  arrangements  that  had  been  made  to  serve  it. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Lazarists  in  West  and  Southwestern  Illinois. 

The  Superior  writes  to  the  Superior  General : 

"I  received  a  letter  from  Monseigneur  Rosati,  who  missioned 
one  of  the  Fathers  to  visit  another  congregation  (Chretienti)  a  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles  distant  from  La  Salle.  From  a  careful  per- 
usal of  the  book  of  expenditures,  and  a  letter  which  will  be  found 
in  its  proper  time  and  place  in  these  records,  the  people  requested 
to  visit  were  in  Morgan  and  Cass  counties,  covering  an  area  of 
sixty  miles,  and  embracing  the  towns  of  Beard,  Meridosia, 
Virginia  and  the  Capitol  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  Springfield 
The  Northern  Cross  Railroad  was  then  in  course  of  building,  and 
there  too  were  gathered  a  congregation  of  the  children  of  the 
Faith.  In  the  opening  of  June,  the  indefatigable  missioner  takes 
the  St.  Louis  boat,  and  arrives  after  a  day's  sail,  at  Beardstown 
on  the  Illinois  River.  He  will  describe  the  town,  in  which,  as  in 
a  mirror,  may  be  closely  defined,  the  zeal  and  resignation,  so 
worthy  of  a  son  of  St.  Vincent  of  Paul.  "I  discovered  about 
two  hundred  Catholics  (Irish)  scattered  over  sixty  miles.  For 
the  space  of  a  month  I  exercised  among  them  the  holy  ministry, 
almost  always  traveled  on  foot,  carrying  on  my  shoulders  saddle- 
bags containing  altar  necessaries,  and  in  my  hand  a  carpet-bag, 
in  open  air,  and  far  into  the  night,  hearing  confessions;  in  the 
day,  occupied  teaching  catechism. 

I  was  amazed  at  the  work  of  grace,  and  at  the  eagerness  with 
which  these  poor  people  rushed  to  hear  the  instructions  I  gave, 
flinging  aside  for  this  purpose,  hours  of  sleep  and  nourishment." 
Vol.  ist.  No.  9  Annals. 

The  Superior  of  the  La  Salle  Mission  at  his  return  home  writes 
of  his  laborers  in  Southern  Illinois : 

La  Salle,  La  Salle  County, 
June  2ist,  1838. 
Rev.  Sir: 

On  last  Saturday  I  arrived  here.     My  health  is  at  present 

(42) 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  43 

tolerably  well.  The  success  of  my  mission  eight  miles  from 
Beardstown  has  been,  that  a  small  church  is  to  be  built  there, 
and  five  children  were  baptized,  of  whom  one  of  Catholic  parents, 
two  of  parents,  one  CathoHc  and  the  other  Protestant,  and  the 
other  of  Protestant  parents.  That  church  is  located  in  the  town 
of  Virginia,  ten  miles  from  Beardstown,  on  the  road  to  Spring- 
field, and  chief  town,  or  county  seat  of  the  now  county  of  Cass, 
being  the  county  of  Morgan  divided  into  two,  Morgan  and  Cass. 
I  have  no  time  to  write  longer.  I  shall  do  in  another  time. 
Your  most  obedient  servant  in  D., 
J.  B.  Raho,  p.  of  Cong.  Mission. 

On  the  same  field,  our  laborer  will  be  again  found  cultivating 
with  hopes,  the  plants  he  had  previously  set  out.  What  is  now 
a  large  part  of  the  present  diocese  of  Alton,  was  an  out-mission 
of  the  La  Salle  Mother  Church. 

The  Confreres  were  once  more  together,  and  except  for  a 
very  short  absence,  to  remain  together  some  time;  for  their 
presence  would  be  in  great  demnd  by  reason  of  events  close  at 
hand,  which  would  try  the  bravest  hearts.  In  the  absence  of 
Father  Raho,  the  zealous  and  unpretentious  assistant,  had  made 
himself,  in  obedience  to  the  divine  command,  "affable  to  the 
poor,"  and  whilst  he  toiled  and  wrought  with  the  courage  and 
sweetness  of  a  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  to  discipline  the  people  to 
form  and  wear  the  habit  of  a  strong,  practical  Catholic  spirit,  in 
his  simplicity  he  thought  and  acted,  that  the  method  which 
would  prove  successful  to  this,  was  to  ignore  the  subject,  and 
dispense  with  the  necessity  of  supporting  the  church.  A  month 
had  shown  little  progress  towards  completion,  in  the  rising 
church.  This  is  the  charitable  lament  of  Father  Raho  to  the 
visitor.  Father  Timon,  attaching  no  blame,  satisfied  with  stating 
the  fact:  "Before  I  went  to  Mendosia  I  had  given  the  direc- 
tions for  the  building.  My  dear  and  pious  companion,  Mr. 
Parodi,  during  my  absence,  did  neglect  to  collect  the  money 
the  people  had  promised  for  the  expenses.  It  caused  the  stop 
of  the  said  building,  and  at  my  coming  back,  I  found  $175,00 
of  debt;  but  through  my  exertions  and  your  $100.00,  it  came 
on  tolerably  well." 

Letter  to  Father  Timon,  August  13,  1838. 

About  this  time  quite  a  stir  was  created  among  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  little  borough  of  La  Salle,  occasioned  by  a  worthy 
Catholic  couple,  who  had  concluded  to  change  their  mode  of 


44  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

living,  and  enter  into  the  normal  condition  of  mankind.  They 
sued  for  and  obtained  at  the  hands  of  Father  Raho  a  dispen- 
sation for  the  bans  of  marriage,  given  their  sworn  testimony 
previously,  that  there  existed  no  hindrance  to  the  celebration  of 
the  marriage.  The  marriage  took  place  in  the  evening,  and  the 
village  was  in  an  uproar,  as  if  the  spirits  of  the  departed  warriors 
of  old  Kaskaskia  had  besieged  the  place,  yelling  their  wild  war- 
whoop,  and  uttering  their  discordant  jargon,  accompanied  with 
sounds  horrid  and  unearthly. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Erin,  thy  silent  tears  never  shall  cease, 
Erin,  thy  languid  smile  ne'er  shall  increase, 
'Till  like  the  rainbow's  light, 
Thy  various  tints  vmite 
And  form  in  heaven's  light 
One  arch  of  peace!" 

Moore. 

Families,  as  well  as  individuals,  says  the  Apostle  of  Charity, 
St.  Vincent  of  Paul,  should  look  upon  it  as  a  misfortune  to  be 
always  tranquil,  to  see  everything  succeeding  to  their  wishes, 
and  to  have  nothing  to  suffer  for  the  love  of  God. 

The  La  Salle  Mission  was  not  destined,  any  more  than  the 
great  family  of  the  Church,  of  which  it  was  a  part,  had  been 
destined,  to  be  an  exception  to  the  severest  test ;  "  Because  thou 
wast  accepted  to  God,"  the  archangel  Raphael  assured  Tobias, 
"it  was  necessary  that  temptation  should  prove  thee."  The 
Mission  of  the  La  Salle  country  had  hardly  been  established,when 
it  was  to  pass  through  an  ordeal,  cruel  at  first,  but  in  the  long 
run,  cleansing  and  healthful. 

The  instruments  of  peace  had  cast  the  seed  of  faith  and  moral- 
ity over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  great  acreage  enclosing 
the  Illinois  Mission.  In  the  three  months  of  their  high  career, 
they  had  come  with  great  joy,  bearing  the  sheaves,  leading  by 
the  hand  new  conquests  to  Christ.  Ottawa,  Beardstown  and 
Virginia,  and  as  far  as  Springfield,  the  State  Capitol,  had  been 
tilled  and  the  harvest  was  still  reaping— a  presage,  that,  in  the 
near  future,  the  Church  would  witness  with  unspeakable  delight, 
in  this  portion  of  her  territory,  a  far  richer  in  the  kind,  and  a 
heavier  harvest  in  the  abundance  of  the  crop. 

The  missioner,  Raho,  had  returned  home  to  find,  to  his  con- 
usion  and  that  of  his  confrere,  Parodi,  La  Salle  and  its  surround- 
ngs,  a  moral  conflagration.  At  Chicago,  the  head  of  the  canal, 
the  fire  had  broken  out.  Unchecked,  it  swept  along,  fed  by  the 
fuel  of  hate,  wrecking  many  a  home,  until  it  reached  its  max- 
imum between  Ottawa  and  La  Salk.     "The  good  man  sowed 

(45) 


46  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

seed  in  his  field,  and  when  men  were  asleep,  the  enemy  came  and 
sowed  cockel  among  the  wheat." 

Studied  in  the  vagaries  of  the  human  mind,  and  in  the  out- 
bursts of  human  passion,  the  Fathers  were  prepared  to  witness 
anything  abnormal  and  ruinous,  where  the  principles  of  reason  and 
divine  faith  were  laid  aside,  and  the  principle  of  appetite  and  self- 
love  was  taken  as  a  guide  and  counselor,  and  reduced  to  prac- 
tice. "It  is  necessary  that  scandal  should  come."  The  fo- 
mentors  and  abettors  of  division  among  the  flock — the  sowers 
of  discord — had  leavened  by  their  wild  seething  words  and  dar- 
ing ,  unchristian  actions,  not  a  few.  In  truth,  the  fire  they  had 
lighted  called  for  a  series  of  agents  to  check  and  extinguish  it, 
as  the  narration  will  show. 

Who  and  what  were  these  men  of  fire?  To  tell  them  they 
were  Druids,  would  have  been  answered  by  a  blow;  to  accuse 
them  of  offering  sacrifice  to  Moloch,  that  glutted  himself  with 
seeking  human  victims  to  lay  at  their  door  the  crime  of  canni- 
balism would  have  exposed  the  daring  accuser  to  slaughter. 
They  abhorred  the  doctrine  of  these  heathens.  Nor  to  any  of 
those  secret  oath-bound  societies,  that  love  and  revel  in  the 
practice  of  secrecy,  hateful  to  God,  to  the  Church  and  to  society, 
sworn  to  deeds  that  are  dark,  to  steep  their  hands  in  the  blood  of 
their  fellow  man,  did  they  pay  allegiance. 

Neither  were  they  of  the  school  of  Protestantism.  With 
loathing  they  turned  away  from  those  who  cut  in  twain  the 
body  of  Christ ;  for,  these  same  fomenters  of  strife  and  organizers 
of  derision,  had  an  enemy  of  their  faith  dared  to  twit  on  any 
point  of  doctrine  or  practice  of  their  religion,  would  have  in- 
stantly demanded  an  apology,-  which  would  be  instantly  offered 
for  the  insult.  "A  man's  enemies  are  those  of  his  own  house- 
hold," says  Truth  itself;  and  "the  corruption  of  the  best,  accord- 
ing to  the  philosopher,  is  the  worst  kind  of  corruption."  History 
must  speak  the  truth. 

Irish  and  Roman  Catholics  were  tne  principles  and  seconds 
in  the  great  scandal  of  the  days  to  which  there  is  reference.  To 
state  this  fact  is  a  very  painful  and  humiliating  duty;  yet  it  is 
history  repeating  itself.  The  grace  of  adoption  as  the  sons  of 
God,  by  the  scheme  of  Redemption,  is  a  grace  given  gratuitously, 
and  not  confirmed,  that  men  may  never  lose  it.  Men  can,  as 
they  do,  allow  pure  nature  to  govern  them,  and  thus  neutralize 
the  action  of  the  higher  power  of  grace.     Though  Christians, 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  47 

Catholics,  like  the  Jew,  they  may  become  sectional,  and  like  the 
Greek  and  Roman,  national,  not  giving  a  thought  to  the  nations 
around  them.  Yes,  like  the  tribes  of  Israel,  they  may  war,  one 
on  the  other,  and,  like  Greek  meeting  Greek,  wrestle  in  deadly 
embrace.  This  will  go  to  explain  in  part  the  conduct  of  the 
leaders  and  the  followers  in  the  faction  fight  on  the  canal.  Whilst 
children  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  these  men  were  bad  children, 
because  stern,  stubborn  and  vindictive;  disciples  of  a  master 
whose  command  to  love  was  forgotten,  in  the  wish  to  revenge, 
and  so  soon  as  they  ceased  to  love  one  another,  to  do  good  to 
them  that  hate  them,  they  forfeited  the  title  of  scholarship  and 
sonship  in  the  school  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  society  of  the 
Catholic  church. 

That  a  spirit  of  rivalry  would  divide  the  Irish  Catholic  of  the 
Blackwater  and  the  Irish  Catholic  of  the  Ban,  the  men  of  Mun- 
ster  and  the  men  of  Ulster  and  Connaught  into  opposite  camps 
and  fire  to  deeds  of  violence,  assume  and  take  glory  in  the  name  of 
"Corkonian,"  and"Fardown,"and  that  the  representative  of  each 
party  would  throw  down  the  energies  of  the  soul  and  body  to 
destroy  his  opponent  is  natural  without  the  spirit  of  the  gospel, 
and  therefore,  neither  startling  nor  uncommon.  "Men  do  not 
gather  grapes  from  thorns,  or  figs  from  thistles." 

In  such  an  exhibition  of  prowess,  as  marked  the  scandal  of 
the  canal,  the  genius  of  evil  clothed  the  ungodly  men  engaged  in 
the  bloody  strife,  with  powers  of  forgetfulness,  of  casting  aside 
all  shame,  and  mocking  the  ruin  they  had  wrought.  The  patriot- 
ism of  their  lives,  the  chivalrous  spirit  that  had  walked  valiantly 
on  the  plains  of  Clontarf,  that  stood  undaunted  on  the  walls  of 
Limerick,  that  lived  in  the  breasts  of  Red  Hugh  and  his  class, 
had  no  charm  for  these  degenerate  sons.  The  outrages  on  the 
great  God,  on  the  cause  of  religion,  on  the  holy  name  of  the 
Church,  whose  interests  were  shattered  and  whose  enemies  had 
occasion  to  blaspheme,  had  no  terror  in  the  flinty  bosoms  of 
.these  misguided  children. 

The  thoughts  of  the  missioners,  heavy  and  sad,  their  hearts 
torn  with  anguish  and  zeal  for  God's  house,  eating  them  up, 
accompanied  them  on  the  altar,  up  and  down  from  Ottawa  and 
La  Salle  to  win  over  with  meekness  and  charity,  these  firebrands. 
On  the  canal  were  seen  but  disorganized  bands  carrying  picks 
and  shovels,  hurrying  towards  one  another,  and  amid  oaths  and 
blasphemies  that  would  color  the  hair,  calling  on  each  other  in 


48  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION 

fiendish  hate,  while  they  cut  and  gashed,  and  in  the  very  midst 
of  the  fray,  the  feet  of  the  missioners  preaching  peace.  It  was 
St.  Paul  conjuring  the  Galatians.  "O  senseless  Galatians,who 
hath  bewitched  you  that  you  should  not  obey  the  truth,  before 
whose  eyes  Jesus  Christ  hath  been  set  forth,  crucified  among 
you,  there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Gentile,  for  you  are  all  one  in 
Christ  Jesus." 

The  appeal  had  been  made  and  welcomed  by  most  of  the 
rioters;  mad  passion  was  arrested  and  order  restored.  Sweet- 
ness won  over  what  invective  and  reproach  had  only  imbittered 
and  driven  away;  and  patience  witnessed  the  end  of  the  riot, 
what  impulse  would  have  turned  into  massacre.  As  it  was, 
murder  had  been  committed.  The  missioner  had  scarcely  time 
to  secure  the  avowal  of  one  poor  man  to  forgive  murderers, 
and  to  administer  the  rights  of  the  Catholic  Church,  when  the 
soul  stood  before  the  judgment  of  God. 

The  hot-headed  leaders  had  gone  up,  after  their  murderous 
designs,  refusing  to  obey  the  authority  of  the  Church,  to  foment 
at  Ottawa,  another  faction-war.  The  civil  power  stretched  out 
its  arms  against  the  principals,  caught  them,  tried  them  and 
shut  them  up;  the  seconds,  they  rebuked  and  ordered  away 
from  the  state.  The  character  of  the  leaders  and  abettors,  and 
the  grief  of  the  missioners  in  this,  the  darkest  hour  of  the  La  Salle 
Mission,  Father  Raho  will  make  known: 

"It  is  said,and  in  fact  it  is  so,  that  they  were  worse  than 
barbarians,  savages,  thirsty  for  the  blood  of  their  own  country- 
men. 

Now  in  this  town  it  is  not  so ;  quiet,  peaceful,  sober,  generally, 
they  attend  to  their  own  duty.  But  on  the  contrary  I  do  not 
know  what  to  do  with  those  of  Ottawa.  They  beat  and  kill 
their  own  countrymen;  they  destroy  houses  and  crops,  and  they 
pretend  to  send  away  for  their  lives  those  of  the  north  of  Ireland, 
called  "Fardowns".  I  am  fatigued,  I  am  tired.  Would  to  God 
I  could  go  away  from  among  them.     Though  I  must  say  that 

the  Corkmen  and  the  Fardowns  are  in  the  same  balance 

May  Almighty  God  have  mercy  on  them Yesterday 

was  buried  a  very  good  man  who  was  killed  by  the  other  party 
because  he  was  not  of  them." .  It  is  said  that  the  Rev.  Father 
O'Meara,  parish  priest  of  Chicago,  from  the  altar  has  pronounced 
upon  them  the  maledictions  of  God.     I  would  wish  to  be  among 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  49 

the  Indians."      Extract    from   letters    of    Father  Raho  to  very 
Rev.  I.  Timon.  V.  C.  M,  August  13th,  1838. 

Dearly  shall  innocent  and  guilty  pay  for  the  ravages  of  the 
spirit  of  discord  and  demon  of  hate.  "In  what  a  man  sins  in 
the  same  shall  he  be  tormented."  In  a  short  time  the  just  God 
shall  dispatch  a  minister  of  vengeance  who  on  the  scene  of  awful 
scandal,  where  the  genius  of  evil  inspired  and  matured  plans  to 
ruin  souls,  shall  preach  his  crusade. 


CHAPTER  X. 
The  Arrival  of  the  Strange,  yet  Eloquent  Missioner. 

"The  angel  of  Death  spread  his  wings  on  the  blast, 
And  breathed  on  the  face  of  the  foe,  as  he  passed ; 
And  the  eyes  of  the  sleeper  waxed  deadly  and  chill, 
And  their  hearts  but  once  heaved,  and  forever  grew  still." 

As  the  moral  disease  of  scandal  had  aroused  and  struck  with 
terror  the  population  of  La  Salle  County,  working  ruin  ever- 
lasting to  not  a  few  promoters  and  abettors  of  scandal;  the 
sudden  appearance  on  the  scene,  of  a  strange,  yet  eloquent 
missioner,  no  less  startled,  and  overwhelmed  with  consternation 
the  citizens  of  the  same  county,  by  the  terror  of  his  name,  and 
the  cruelty  of  his  nature.  His  powers,  as  a  rule,  were  irresist- 
ible, and  his  conquests  rapid  and  permanent.  He  was  no  respecter 
of  persons,  countries,  or  times.  He  had  preached  his  crusade 
to  thousands,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  in  the  far  East,  in 
Northern  Europe;  crossed  into  North  America  in  1832,  landing 
at  Quebec,  passing  through  the  Atlantic  cities  of  the  States, 
traveling  westward,  visiting  with  merciless  severity  and  unex- 
ampled cruelty,  whom  he  had  seized  by  his  breath,  and  fettered 
by  his  prostration. 

In  the  Summer  of  1838,  the  strange  missioner,  the  cholera, 
came  to  visit,  and  preach  in  and  around  the  surroundings  of 
La  Salle. 

The  preacher  came,  like  any  other  instrument  of  God's 
power  and  justice,  at  the  call  of  his  Maker.  Like  the  locusts, 
and  the  frogs,  and  the  rivers  of  blood  sent  against  the  Egyptians 
of  old,  like  the  avenging  Angel  spreading  his  wings  on  the  blast, 
and  breathing  slaughter  upon  the  hosts  of  the  Assyrians,  and 
strewing  the  wilderness  of  Egypt  with  the  four  and  twenty 
thousand  Israelites;  so  did  the  cholera  come  to  smite.  It 
was  the  just  and  angry  God,  come  down  in  wrath  and  in  mercy. 
Who  shall  resist  the  sweeping  hurricane,  the  spirit  of  pesti- 
lence?    Where  was  the  genius  to  discover  the  character  of  the 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  51 

pest?  Where  the  physician's  skill  to  apply  a  remedy?  Where 
the  might  to  strangle  the  monster  and  save  the  victim  ?  Twenty- 
four  hours  was  the  term  set  down  by  the  destroyer,  to  begin 
and  finish  his  work  of  carnage.  His  power  he  leveled  first 
against  the  dwellers  in  the  shanties,  living  along  the  cozy  bed,- 
of  the  Illinois  River,  drinking  water  made  up  from  every  source, 
feeding  on  vegetables  of  the  rankest  soil,  careless  of  what  they 
wore,  how  and  where  they  slept.  Next  for  visitation  came 
the  crowded  boarding-houses;  and  lastly,  the  range  of  bottom, 
from  Marseilles  to  Peru,  was  seized  and  occupied,  and  given  over 
to  the  relentless  foe.  Natures  that  had  been  inured  to  hardships 
of  frost  and  hunger,  and  had  triumphed  over  other  forms  of 
deadly  disease,  the  cholera  fell  upon — driving  them  cruelly 
through  a  course  of  purging  and  vomiting  fits,  and  tortures  of 
the  cramp,  robbing  them  of  their  strength,  until  they  collapsed; 
and,  their  systems  preyed  upon,  in  the  most  vital  parts,  unable 
to  get  back  to  their  former  condition,  they  lay  like  corpses,  and 
in  a  few  hours  were  surrendered  to  the  tyranny — death.  The 
plague-stricken  region  was,  with  hardly  an  exception,  Catholic 
— the  region  where  the  great  scandal  had  been  conceived  and 
bom  and  waxed  strong,  and  with  a  diabolical  spirit,  had  drawn 
a  few  away  from  their  allegiance  to  their  God  and  Church. 

The  hours  of  retribution  had  come.  Armed  to  meet  and 
overcome  every  foe,  the  missioner  had  changed  the  face  of  things. 
He  had  filled  on  week  days  the  temporary  chapel  in  the  log 
house  of  Billy  Byrne,  and  on  Sundays  the  boarding-house  of 
Johnnie  Hynes.  The  confessionals  were  crowded,  and  conver- 
sions, true  and  lasting  were  the  result.  Night  and  day  they 
"who  watched  over  Israel"  hardly,  except  by  fits,  slept.  The 
horses  were  saddled,  for  the  near  and  far  shanty,  to  bear  at  the 
momentary  summons  given,  the  ministering  spirit  to  one  who 
had  been  a  rebel  to  authority,  to  another  who  had  lived  up  to 
the  voice  of  authority,  to  catch  the  faint  accents  of  both  to 
fit  them  to  meet  their  God  in  a  blessed  eternity.  Indeed  the 
Lord  had,  at  last,  done  the  bidding  of  his  servants:  "Arise,  O 
Lord,  and  judge  your  cause  and  let  your  enemies  be  scattered." 
The  flail  of  God's  justice  had  fallen  heavily  upon  the  seeds  of 
wheat,  to  loosen  the  grain  from  the  chaff;  the  fire  of  His  indig- 
nation had  rained  down  to  purify  and  consume.  The  sounds  of 
revelry  and  strife  were  exchanged  for  the  sounds  of  wailing  and 
prolonged   lamentations.     No    longer    were    bands    breathing 

U.  OF  ILL  LIB. 


52  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

hate  and  uttering  scorn,  one  against  the  other,  hurrying  to  and 
fro  in  defiance;  in  their  place,  were  bands  of  mourners,  hurrying 
to  the  pest  house,  conveying  to  the  hole  in  a  ravine,  or  to  the 
burial  ground,  lent  by  the  village  authorities,  the  body  of  a 
husband  or  wife  or  mother  just  lifeless — since  to  harbor  it,  -was 
to  assist  the  destroyer  in  his  carnage.  The  death-bed  scenes  of 
not  a  few,  were,  beyond  measure,  too  horrible  to  dwell  upon, 
for  all  who  witnessed  the  spectacle,  in  whose  nature  the  fear  of 
the  terrible  judgment  of  God  had  not  been  laid  aside.  We  give 
the  words  of  the  father,  whose  lot  it  was  to  be  present  on  the 
trying  and  sad  occasions: 

"The  season  here  has  been  very  sickly,  and  we  have  been 
very  busy  in  visiting  the  sick  and  burying  the  dead,  and  would 
to  God,  that  His  holy  justice  was  appeased.  Still  the  people  are 
afflicted  with  dangerous  diseases.  Da}^  and  night  we  both  have 
been  laboring,  in  order  to  afford  the  help  of  our  religion  to  the 
poor  sick.     I  do  not  know  how  long  it  will  last.     The  will  of 

God  be  done.     Amen.     It  is  said  that  the  Rev.  Mr , 

parish  priest  of  Chicago,  from  the  altar  pronounced  upon  them 
(the  rioters  and  scandal  givers)  the  malediction  of  God.  If  it 
is  so  I  see  the  effects  of  it.  They  die  like  ....  without  having 
time  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  other  world.  All  the  sick- 
ness, I  may  say,  is  among  them.     We  are  tired." 

Extract  of  letter  of  Father  Raho  to  Father  Timon,  dated 
August  13,  1838. 

"Pray  for  us,"  writes  Father  Parodi  on  the  same  sheet  as 
that  of  the  Superior,  "who  have  no  time  for  anything,  to  give 
us  strength  in  order  to  be  able  to  assist  all  those  who  are  dying 
on  this  line." 

Such  was  the  missioner  in  the  terrible  scourge  and  wrathful 
storm,  sent  to  cut  and  to  purify  rebellious  hearts,  and  an  atmos- 
phere ladened  with  the  weight  of  scandal.  The  valley  of  the 
Illinois  for  a  hundred  miles  was  the  more  favored  because  of  the 
arrival  of  the  pest  missioner.  "Do  not  imagine,"  says  St. 
Augustine,  "that  the  wicked  are  for  no  purpose  in  the  world, 
and  that  God  does  no  good  by  them.  Every  wicked  man  lives 
either  to  be  chastised,  or  lives  that  the  good  man  may  be  tried 
through  his  wretched  example."  The  tears  and  groans  of  the 
living,  "the  sudden  partings,  stich  as  press  the  life  from  out  the 
heart,"  strong  men  falling  in  a  day,  by  scores,  funerals  with  a 
single  attendant  and  mourner,  graves  unmarked  and  never  to 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  53 

be  known,  the  pall  of  death  hanging  over  the  villages  of  the 
La  Salle  country,  declared  loudly  and  emphatically  that;  "there 
is  no  plot  against  the  Lord" — that  He  shall,  at  His  own  hour, 
gather  together  all  scandals,  and  He  shall  save  His  own  at  any 
cost;  and,  therefore,  at  one  time.  He  lets  loose  the  dogs  of  war, 
at  another,  dispatches  famine — in  its  "desires  wolfish,  bloody, 
starved  and  ravenous;"  as  now  He  turns  villages  into  a  lazer- 
house,  "Wherein  were  laid  numbers  of  all  diseased." 

"Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  because  He  hath  visited 
His  people." 

Not  to  speak  of  the  number  who  had  yielded  to  the  power 
of  the  pest  missioner,  unknown  and  unattended,  or  to  those  who 
had  been  struck  down,  but  whose  iron  frames  had,  with  care- 
ful nursing,  withstood  the  shock  and  rallied;  yet  from  July  to 
December,  in  the  surroundings  of  the  La  Salle  and  Peru  villages, 
eighty-one,  more  than  three-fourths  of  them  able-bodied  men 
and  Catholics,  had  succumbed.  When  at  the  maximum  of  its 
deadly  ravages,  though  sorrow  had  all  but  crushed  the  people 
and  missioners,  and  the  funeral  car  passed  daily  to  the  grave, 
the  church  was  hurried  along  with  a  speed  corresponding  to 
the  longing  desires  of  the  people — above  all,  of  those  who  had 
lost  their  nearest  and  dearest  by  the  cruel  epidemic.  As  the 
infected  body  could  not  be  allowed  an  entrance  into  the  church, 
were  it  finished  and  dedicated,  friends  and  relatives  could  and 
would  enter  the  house  of  God,  before  and  after  the  funeral, 
and  offer  up  their  earnest  prayers  now  in  the  presence  of  Him 
in  the  tabernacle,  and  now  in  the  presence  of  his  priest  and 
victim. 

August  had  commenced.  The  month  that  had  passed,  left 
its  traces  of  care,  and  dug  its  furrows  of  age  on  the  two  mis- 
sioners. Memories  of  the  awful  hours  would  remain.  The 
bitterest  had  been  tasted ;  the  blow  had  fallen.  A  respite  would 
now  be  offered  and  taken,  when  the  new  church  would  afford 
occasion  for  shifting  the  mind  from  scenes  of  sadness  to  those 
of  joy. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Education  and  its  Connterfeits. 
"Romae  nutriri  mihi  contigit  atque  doceri." 
"It  was  my  fortune  to  be  bred  and  taught  at  Rome." 

Horace,  Epis.  and. 

The  career  of  unbridled  passion  and  selfish  aim,  the  faction 
fight,  which  had  for  weeks  thrown  into  confusion  the  best  ele- 
ments of  order,  and  threatened  ruin  to  the  guardian  of  order, 
the  Catholic  Church,  had  closed  ignominiously.  There  was 
reason  to  give  thanks;  and  the  lovers  of  order,  out  of,  and  in 
the  little  mission,  were  most  lavish,  to  a  kind  providence,  in 
the  outpouring  of  their  hearts.  The  moral  pest  had  flown;  yet 
over  the  mission,  the  shroud  of  that  physical  pest  was  still 
spread;    still  the  newly  made  grave  awaited  its  dweller. 

Priests  and  people  had,  therefore,  much  to  weigh  them  down 
in  sorrow.     It  is  true,  as  Caledonia's  poet  sings: 
"Many  and  sharp  the  numerous  ills, 

Inwoven  with  our  frame ! 

The  poor,  oppressed,  honest  man, 

Had  never,  sure,  been  born, 

Had  there  not  been  some  recompense, 

To  comfort  those  who  mourn." 
To  mourn  calamities  of  awful  scandal,  and  sweeping  pesti- 
lence was  praiseworthy — was  a  duty  taught  by  the   Highest 
Exemplar.     But  it  has  its  limit. 

Grief  unchecked,  is  weakness.  Victims  to  such,  as  the  vic- 
tims they  weep,  pass  away;  they  "leave  no  footprints  on  the 
sands  of  time."  Man  is  also  for  the  living.  A  share  of  his  time 
and  a  place  in  his  thoughts  must  be  given  to  them,  in 
proportion  to  the  height  on  which  he  stands,  and  the  duty  he 
is  called  upon  to  discharge.  Mindfulness  of  the  living  claims 
precedence  of  thought  for  the  dead.  So  the  missioners  arose 
above  nature,  acquired  new  strength,  and  as  far  as  possible, 
made  their  way  out  of  the  cloud  of  grief;  and  with  stout  hearts 
applied  themselves  to  fill  up .  a  hollowness ;  to  meet  a  crying 
want — a  want,  it  may  be  said,  the  most  urgent  of  the  mission. 

(54) 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  55 

It  is  with  great  pleasure  and  praiseworthy  pride,  the  his- 
torian places  on  record,  that  in  the  night  of  sorrow  and  care,  the 
missioners  opened  the  first  Catholic  school  on  the  ist  of  July, 
1838,  about  three  months  after  their  arrival  at  La  Salle.  "Dur- 
ing the  summer  I  opened  a  school  for  boys  and  girls;  an  able 
and  fervent  Catholic  called  Schooley,  (Scully?)  conducts  it  to 
my  great  satisfaction."  (Raho  to  Sup.  General.)  In  a  letter 
to  Father  Timon,  dated  August  25th,  1838,  the  zealous  father 
tells  the  visitor  of  the  discipline  that  reigned,  and  attention  to 
study  that  marked  the  sanctuary  of  knowledge.  Mirabile  dictu! 
Wonderful  to  relate !  the  man  acquainted  with  the  Status  Rerum 
of  the  mission  in  these  times,  will  exclaim.  The  people  harassed 
by  disease,  tortured  by  the  death  of  their  dearest  ones,  barely 
living,  the  church  not  yet  opened,  the  home  of  the  fathers  not 
yet  built,  no  treasury,  and  none  likely  to  be,  to  keep  the  school 
on  a  running  footing,  why  enter  upon  an  undertaking  which 
prudent  men  would  name  rash,  and  begin,  what  must  end  in 
failure?  The  doctrine  of  Horace  far  excells  that  just  put  forth: 
"Est  modus  in  rebus,  demque  certi  fines." 
"I  bone  quo  virtus  tua  te  vocat: 
I  pede  fausto, 

Grandia  laturus  meritorum  premia, 
Quid  stas?" 
And  certainly,  the  doctrine  flowing  from  truth  itself,  which 
the  founder  of  the  Mission  drank  in  so  abundantly,  and  com- 
municated so  freely  to  his   children,   savored  nothing  of  the 
human : 

"When  we  are  convinced  that  any  enterprise  is  calculated  to 
promote  the  glory  of  God,  and  that  it  is  conformable  to  His 
will,  we  should  spare  neither  pains,  nor  expense  to  carry  it  to 
perfection,  either  by  our  own  means  or  those  of  others." 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  or  Christianity,  constituted  and 
appointed  by  God  in  the  flesh  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  all  that  He 
was  to  man — the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,  the  sum  of  all 
knowledge,  it  followed,  that  nothing  should  and  would  be  doser 
and  dearer  to  her  than  the  duty  of  leading  her  children  in  the 
way  they  ought  to  walk;  in  the  truth,  they  ought  to  accept, 
and  to  the  life  they  were  called — Heaven  everlasting.  The 
guardian  and  interpreter  of  Christianity  and  the  mother  of  real, 
and  not  sham  progress,  the  principle  of  the  Church  Rornan  had 
been,  is,  and  ever  shall  be,  that  in  the  early  and  late  training  of 
her  children,  nor  parents,  nor  government  of  any  kind,  have 


S6  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

or  can  claim  any  rights  against  the  Creator,  Redeemer  and 
Sanctifier  of  the  child.  "0,  man!  what  have  you,  you  have 
not  received;  and  if  you  have  received  why  do  you  glory?" 
"He  made  us  and  not  we,  ourselves;"  that  the  end  of  the  child  is 
a  supernatural  end;  and  therefore  all  its  powers  of  soul,  force  of 
brain,  affections  and  desires  of  heart,  energies  of  body,  must  as 
to  their  center,  ever  tend  to  God,  their  supreme  Good ;  that  the 
worship  of  its  Maker,  His  perfections,  as  His  power,  providence, 
justice,  love,  mercy,  all  that  has  been  revealed,  as  His  law,  the 
measure,  the  square  of  every  thought,  word  and  action,  the 
grace  of  the  sacraments  must,  in  all  states,  calling,  changes  of 
life,  be  ever  present  to  the  searching  and  inventive  mind,  and 
close  to  the  yearning  heart  after  all  objects  of  knowledge;  that 
the  One,  all  holy  God,  the  first  cause  and  last  end  of  man  is  the 
source  of  all  truth.  Truth  itself;  and  source  of  all  goodness. 
Goodness  itself;  and  that  consequently  where  He,  the  center 
and  source  of  truth  and  goodness  is  excluded  there  is  error  and 
lie,  misery  and  death;  since  the  aim  man  was  made  to  hit,  and 
the  object  the  Christian  was  born  again  to  a  new  creation  to 
reach,  are  rendered  impossible.  Thus  the  citadel  of  letters,  the 
laboratory  of  the  sciences,  the  school  of  arts — all  and  each  de- 
partment of  knowledge,  celebrated  for  its  crowds  of  scholars, 
and  for  masters  like  Livy  and  Pythagoras  of  the  ancient,  Buffon 
and  Agassiz,  of  the  modern  world,  that  taught,  ignoring  in  the 
curriculum  of  its  studies  the  belief  in  the  Savior,  who  should 
come  in  the  flesh  to  atone,  and  the  fact  that  a  Savior  had  come 
in  the  flesh  to  atone  fully  for  the  sins  of  mankind,  to  restore  man 
to  favor  with  his  creator,  and  enrich  him  with  the  glory  and 
honor  of  a  life  everlasting,  would  be  a  citadel  without  a  guard — 
a  laboratory  without  a  purpose,  and  a  school  wihout  an  object. 
Indeed,  education  pursued  on  the  above  plan  is  "the  tree 
withering  long  before  its  fall;"  "the  hull  driving  on  though 
mast  and  sail  be  torn;"  a  helmless  vessel,  a  springless  year, 
fruits  and  effects,  and  no  cause.  For  what  is  the  value  of  this 
pagan  training  in  the  long  run?  To  reap  glory  in  war;  glory  in 
the  sciences ;  glory  in  both ;  and  the  ownership  of  the  world.  From 
childhood  to  manhood  the  development  of  muscle  in  the  arts  of 
wrestling,  boxing,  running,  drawing  the  bow,  plainness  of  dress, 
scantiness  of  diet,  and  implicit  obedience  to  authority  were  the 
exercises  to  finish  the  education  of  the  Persian  youth;  to  reach 
this  end,  the  glory  of  the  Persian  monarchy.     To  this  and  for 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  S7 

this  alone  was  he  born  and  bred.  To  produce  the  "Homo  ad 
unguem,"  now  the  stoic,  now  the  epicurean,  the  Athenian  adopt- 
ed as  his  motto: 

"Ingenuas  didicisse  fideliter  artes, 
Emollit  mores." 

To  be  a  citizen  of  eternal  Rome,  to  aim  at  the  possession  of  the 
world,  to  be  above  the  gods,  to  create  gods,  to  wear  the  mask 
of  virtue,  whilst  inculcating  maxims  and  laying  down  precepts 
of  morality;;    such  was  the  end  of  the  old  Roman. 

"Men  do  not  gather  grapes  from  thorns."  Virgil,  whom  the 
infidel,  and  the  so-called  Christian,the  pagan  to-day,  enjoying 
the  benefits  of  Christianity,  and  denying  the  author  and  pre- 
server of  Christianity,  adores,  makes  known  to  us  in  the  couplet 
he  had  formed  before  his  death,  and  ordered  written  on  his 
tomb,  the  end  for  which  God  made  him  and  redeemed  him! 

Mantuame  genuit,  Calabri  rapuere,  tenet  nunc  parthenope, 
cecini,  pascua,  rures,  duces! 

Old  Horace  prides  himself  and  gives  thanks  to  the  gods  that 
he  had  such  a  father  to  lead  him  to  the  school  of  virtue ! 

"Ipse  mihi  custos  incorruptissimus  omnes  circum  doctores  aderat, 
Who  brought  him  to  the  source  of  knowledge,  and  Rhose  care. 

Pudicum. 
Qui  primus  virtutis  hono,  servavit  ab  omni 
Non  solum  facto,  verum  opprobrio  quoque  turpi!" 

Sat.    8th,    ist   book. 

Singularly  preserved  young  Roman  of  the  days  of  Augustus ! 
correct  model  to  copy!  For,  mighty  Rome,  the  focus  of  light, 
the  center  of  intellectual  life,  the  Pantheon  of  the  gods,  where 
Jupiter  Capitolinus  typified  the  grossest  grade  of  licentiousness, 
whilst  the  vestal  virgin  proclaimed  chastity;  where  Hercules, 
the  god  of  muscle,  encouraged  to  imitation,  and  Minerva  pre- 
sided over  the  arts  and  sciences;  where  Mars,  the  avenger  held 
sway  in  the  number  and  selection  of  his  sacrifices;  this  was  the 
theatre  of  the  toga  virilis ;  this  the  school  and  these  the  models 
of  Horace! 

"Romae  nutriri  mihi  contigit  atque  doceri." 

The  able  and  witty  Satyrist  will  not  hide  the  results  obtained 

from  his  stay  with,  and  the  studies  made  at  the  foot  of  Masters, 

under  the  eye  of  the  greater  and  lesser  gods  of  Rome. 

Quoctimque  rapit  tempestes,  deferor  hospes, 
NuUius  addictus  jarere  in  verba  magistri. 

Satvrs,  I  St  book. 


S8  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

Me  pinguem  et  nitidum  bene  curata  flvte  vises, 
Cum  ridere  voles,  Epicuri  de  grege  porcum. 

4th  Ep.  1st  boom. 

"I  am  willing  tool  to  the  force  of  the  storm, 
I  give  way  to  no  master; 
Look  at  me,  though  you  laugh,  a  plump 
And  sleek  hog  let  loose  from  the  herd  of  Epicurus." 

The  people  of  modern  times  that  renounced  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  therefore,  Christianity,  as  the  guardian  and  interpre- 
ter of  education,  have  looked  on  while  throne  and  altar 
were  hewn  down  together,  reducing  order  to  chaos,  by 
the  vaunted  spirits  of  a  godless  education.  The  principles  of 
such  a  system  are  still  held,  proclaimed,  taught  in  France  still; 
in  Germany;  in  England.  In  free  United  States,  they  obtain; 
they  are  fast  bearing  the  fruits,  and  the  fruits  are  rapidly  ripen- 
ing, where  the  God  of  Christianity  in  school,  academy,  university, 
has  no  habitation  and  a  name.  Will  the  upheavel  come,  as  it 
came  to  haughty  Rome,  striking  terror  and  spreading  desolation 
everywhere,  bursting  the  bands  that  hold  society  together?  or  will 
it  approach  "to  make  a  solitude  and  call  it  peace?"  Remove 
the  barrier.  What  shall  hinder  the  mad  torrent ;  light  the  match 
that  will  prevent  the  conflagration? 

"The  Niobe  of  nations!  there  she  stands 
Crownless  and  childless  in  her  voiceless  woe. 
An  empty  urn! 

The  Goth,  the  Christian,  time,  war,  flood  and  fire. 
Have  dealt  upon  the  seven  hills  city's  pride; 
Far  and  wide  temple  and  tower  went  down, 
Nor  left  a  site;  chaos  of  ruins." 

And  this,  of  Roma  aeterna,  the  empire,  without  a  peer  in  all 
the  world  names  great! 

The  better  class,  thinking,  reasoning  men  that  follow  up 
principles  to  their  conclusions  already  view  with  alarm,  what 
may  at  any  moment  happen  to  the  ruin  of  the  best  interests  of 
society;  and  the  utter  wreck  of  the  family,  if  religionless  edu- 
cation be  cherished  and  spread  abroad.  The  murmurings  are 
heard:  "Without  religion,"  writes  D'Israeli  (Lord  Beaconfield, 
in  Lothaire)  "the  world  would  become  a  scene  of  universal 
desolation."  Lord  Derby  reminds  his  readers:  "Religion  is 
not  a  thing  apart  from  education,  but  is  interwoven  with  its 
whole  system;  it  is  a  principle  which  controls  and  regulates  the 
whole  mind,  and  happiness  of  the  people."  "The  republic," 
exclaimed  the  sanguinary  Robespierre,  as  the  guillotine,  not 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  59 

before  he  had  celebrated  his  carnival  of  blood,  by  butchering 
the  teachers  of  religion  and  morality,  was  about  to  cut  its  way 
— "the  republic  can  only  be  established  on  the  eternal  basis  of 
morality." 

The  American  Channing  is  convinced  that:  "Talent  divorced 
from  rectitude,  will  prove  more  a  demon  than  a  God." 

Thus  Cardinal  Newman  to  the  school  of  philosophy  and 
letters,  entitled  "Christianity  and  Letters."  It  can  not  be  a 
subject  to  be  wondered  at,  that  the  guardian  of  the  child,  would 
throw  forward  energies  of  the  soul  and  body,  "to  train  up  the 
child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  that  when  old,  he  would  not  de- 
part from  it;  for  none  better  than  his  mother  understood  his 
character,  read  his  surroundings  and  counted  his  wants  "  The 
old  Jewish  Church  that  had  lived  up  to  the  tradition  of  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  sav/  buried  forever,  the  infidel  nations  which 
had  so  often  bled  her.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  into  whose 
hands  passed  the  traditions  of  the  faithful  church  of  Moses  and 
prophets,  saw  buried  mighty  pagan  Rome.  And  the  barbarous 
hordes  that  had  fallen  upon  and  broken  up  the  empire  of  the 
Caesars,  threw  themselves  at  the  feet  of  the  Mother  who  had 
God  for  her  son,  of  Him  who  is  the  light  of  her,  the  source  of 
true  civilization.  Out  from  the  confused  and  wild  mass,  through 
the  power  and  influence  she  held  over  the  conquerers,  arose  the 
nations  of  Europe,  whose  children  in  time  would  forget  their 
forefathers  were  either  savages  or  barbarians;  that  if  they  had 
the  advantages  of  a  severe  education  in  the  sciences  and  a  polite 
education  in  the  arts,  could  dress  their  style  in  the  beauties  of 
Homer  and  Virgil,  the  witticism  of  Horace,  and  the  dignity  of 
Cicero,  was  due  to  Christian  Rome,  and  to  her  alone. 

Pouring  into  the  hearts  of  the  new-born,  her  faith,  her  own 
spirit  of  true  civilization,  the  areas  of  Germany  and  Italy,  France, 
Ireland,  Scotland  and  England,  were  covered  with  her  schools 
and  universities.  The  chapter  of  Orleans  in  the  days  of  Charle- 
magne had  decreed:  "Let  priests  have  schools  in  the  villages 
and  in  the  country,  and  if  any  wish  to  let  their  children  learn 
literature,  let  the  priests  not  refuse,  mindful  that  "those  who 
instruct  many  unto  justice  shall  shine  as  stars."  Her  priests  of 
the  secular  and  above  all,  her  regular  clergy,  the  monastic  orders 
of  men  and  women,  gathered  together  at  the  bidding  of  the 
Church  from  the  body  of  dead  pagan  Rome,  the  choicest  of 
Rome's  treasures,  and  of  those  nations  that  had  been  her  tribu- 


6o  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

taries,  hidden  in  a  hundred  languages,  and  treating  every  de- 
partment of  human  knowledge.  The  literature  and  science  of 
the  great  nations  of  antiquity  were  in  a  short  period  done  into 
every  civilized  tongue.  Everlasting  thanks  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  her  Monks,  the  enemies  always  of  ignorance 
and  barbarism.  Editions  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  trea- 
tises on  every  science,  translations  of  the  Bible  into  scores  of 
languages,  were  the  works  of  the  Monks.  The  men  of  letters  of 
lesser  and  greater  renown,  who  in  every  age,  shone,  flooding  the 
church  above  and  around  with  streams  of  knowledge  and  deeds 
of  heroism  for  religion  and  morality,  came  forth  from  the  schools 
inspired  and  established  by  the  guardian  and  promoter  of  liter- 
ature and  science.  Crecovia  and  Oxford,  Louvain,  Montpelier, 
Orleans,  Rostock,  Thonan,  Toulouse,  Wittenberg,  Salamance, 
Lismore,  Clonard,  Paris,  Rome,  are  the  sources,  whence,  under 
the  aegis  of  the  Church,  Catholic  Europe,  and  through  Europe, 
the  world  beside,  derived  its  strength  in  the  intellectual  and 
moral  and  social  spheres.  The  sacrifices  ever  demanded  ofher 
in  every  age  to  do  all  this  for  her  children,  were  frequent  and 
great ;  for,  the  church  that  rushed  to  the  rescue  of  letters  and 
science,  in  the  awful  upheavel  of  mighty  pagan  Rome,  expos- 
ing her  life,  were  she  destined  to  die,  shows  conclusively  the 
value  she  set  on  knowledge,  human  and  divine.  That  she,  still 
carries  in  her  heart,  the  old  love  that  inflamed,  and  the  zeal  that 
quickened  her  for  the  development  of  the  mind,  and  the  training 
of  the  heart  of  her  children,  which  of  yore  distinguished  and  de- 
fined her  the  mother  of  letters  and  science,  is  observed  to-day  in 
every  parish  and  diocese  wherein  she  rules.  The  Blackhawk 
war  of  1832,  when  the  Indian  was  routed,  ended,  and  his  name 
was  one  of  dread  and  dismay  for  years  after.  On  the  ridge  of 
the  valley  where  six  years  before  he  roamed,  arose  on  the  Lapsley 
farm,  the  log  school  house,  the  humble  beginning  of  the  Mis- 
sioners'  labors  in  favor  of  Catholic  Education. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Dedication  of  the  Church  of  the  Most  Holy  Cross  the  First  Church 
of  the  La  Salle  Mission. 

"As  often  as  we  celebrate  the  festival  of  a  church,  if  we  carefully  and 
faithfully  pay  attention,  and  live  holily  and  justly,  we  shall  perceive  that 
all  which  is  done  in  the  building  of  a  church,  has  its  completion  in  our 
building."  St.  Augvxstine,  Sermon  252. 

The  school,  the  great  want  of  the  Mission,  which  the  illus- 
trious Dupanloup,  names  the  "Greatness  of  a  nation,  the  pre- 
server of  its  splendor,  and  the  cure  of  decay,"  had  been  attended 
to  with  a  zeal,  praiseworthy  and  imitable.  An  event  so  weighty 
in  results  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  spread  of  sound  doctrine 
and  morality,  not  only  among  the  children  of  the  Church,  but 
likewise  among  all  classes  of  society,  did  not  excite  that  enthusi- 
asm naturally  looked  for,  in  the  La  Salle  of  that  day.  As  the 
fruits  would  come,  enthusiasm  and  affection  for  the  cause  of 
education  would  follow,  whilst  the  work  of  the  gardeners  in 
directing  the  twig  was  in  progress.  Like  thorough  husbandmen, 
also  they  vigorously  pressed  on  the  work  in  favor  of  the  hardier 
plants.  In  proportion  to  the  growth  and  variety  of  weeds,  of 
rocks  of  scandal,  and  drought  of  indifference,  that  lay  at  every 
turn,  in  the  like  proportion  were  their  unfaltering  courage  and 
persevering  efforts,  to  kill  the  weeds,  to  shatter  the  stones,  to 
feed  the  plants  by  the  graces  of  the  word  and  the  sacraments. 
The  more  easily  to  perform  this,  the  date  of  the  opening  of  the 
church  had  been  announced. 

So  long  on  the  way,  and  carefully  superintended,  the  church 
was  at  last  ready  for  dedication  to  worship,  under  the  title  of 
"The  Most  Holy  Cross."  To  pastor  and  people,  above  all,  to 
Catholic  people  at  any  time,  yea  to  all  people  irrespective  of 
creed,  the  dedication  of  a  Catholic  church  is  a  notable  occurence, 
and  one  sure  to  have  and  to  hold  its  own  place  in  pleasing  recol- 
lections. Far  and  near  the  coming  event,  for  months,  had  set 
the  community  aglow,  no  thoughts  higher,  no  topic  more  fre- 

(61) 


62  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

quent  and  engaging  The  hearts  of  the  faithful,  who  love  to 
hear  of  and  to  see  the  evidence  of  the  spread  of  the  true  religion 
go  out:  ''Thanks  be  to  God,  the  church  is  to  open;  nothing, 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  take  place  to  cloud  the  glory  of  the  day. 
The  length  of  the  purse,  will  express  the  welcome  to  the  great 
occasion.  The  council  of  the  oracle,  'Age  guod  agis,"  'Do  what 
you  do,'  was  followed  faithfully  by  the  fathers  with  winning 
simplicity  and  purity  of  intention,  in  the  preparation."  Con- 
structed of  timbers,  resting  one  upon  the  other,  covered  with 
thatch,  and  plastered,  fifty  feet  in  length  and  twenty-five  in 
width,  facing  south,  and  protected  on  each  side  by  locust  and 
elm  trees— all  things  in  and  around  breathing  poverty—such 
was  the  log  church ;  the  reminder  of  the  first  home  of  the  Divine 
Founder,  Bethlehem ;  with  ever3^thing  the  zeal  of  the  missioners 
and  the  simple  faithful  could  furnish  to  fit  it  for  a  shrine  to  the 
holiest  of  purposes. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  humble  temple,  a  belfry  had  been 
built,  to  lodge  that  creature  of  God,  the  bell,  the  instrument  of  so 
many  and  varied  blessings  to  the  Christian  soul.  Its  duty  would 
be  to  summon  the  faithful  to  the  great  solemnity  of  dedication, 
ande  very  day  of  the  revolving  year  to  do  honor  to  Him  made 
flesh  for  the  love  of  us  and  to  her,  the  Virgin  Mother,  that  gave 
us  the  God-man;  nor  would  it  forget  to  moan  in  plaintive  tones, 
to  ask  suffrages,"  for  the  faithful  departed,  that  through  the  mercy 
of  God,  they  would  rest  in  peace."  What  joyous  and  plaintive 
recollections  are  awakened  by  the  Christian  bell !  At  the  dawn 
of  reason  the  music  of  its  voice,  is  in  keeping  with  that  of  charm- 
ing 3'^outh. 

"Whose  sound,  so  wild,  would 
In  the  days  of  childhood, 
Fling  o'er  my  cradle  those  magic  spells." 

Then  again  at  dusk,  what  more  faithful  reminder  of  death, 
the  ravisher,  than  "The  curfew  tolling  the  knell  of  parting  day!" 
It  is  now  the  matin  bell,  ringing  out  the  summons  "to  resort 
early  to  the  Lord  that  made  us."  Now  it  is  the  vesper  bell, 
imploring  the  Almighty  in  plaintive  tones,  "to  save  the  guards, 
to  guard  the  sleepers,  so  that  they  may  watch  with  Christ,  and 
rest  in  peace."  The  eariy  Latin  poet  voices  the  many  purposes 
of  this  venerable  creature  of  God,  and  handmaid  of  the  Church: 

"Funero  plango,  fulmina  fiango,  sabbata  pango; 
Excito  lentos,  dissipo  ventos,  paco,  cruentos." 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  63 

Amid  the  bustle,  the  necessary  attendant  on  preparation 
for  a  great  solemnity,  the  selection  of  the  name  to  be  given  to 
the  church  occasioned  much  discussion;  and,  of  course,  before 
the  name  was  agreed  upon,  much  time  had  been  spent.  The 
title  the  church  would  bear  was  that  of  the  Most  Holy  Cross, 
Sanctissimae  Crucis.  A  happier,  more  consoling  title  could  not 
have  been  chosen.  Nothing  had  been  more  constant  in  the 
mind,  closer  to  the  heart,  more  emphasized  in  the  daily  actions 
of  priests  and  people,  ever  since  the  Mission  opened,  than  the 
type  of  Faith,  the  Anchor  of  Hope  and  the  proof  of  Charity. 
Under  various  forms,  at  all  times,  the  cross  had  been  the  com- 
panion, and  the  solace  of  the  missioners  and  the  faithful. 

"In  this  sign,  they  would  conquer."  In  sorrow,  it  had 
lightened  them,  in'  trouble,  calmed  them.  In  its  power,  they 
discovered  strength  and  confidence,  in  its  generousness,  absence 
of  selfishness.  The  weakness  of  the  Cross  had  made  them  strong, 
and  the  fatigues  of  the  cross  had  refreshed  them.  Praise  too 
high,  cannot  be  bestowed  on  our  early  missioners  of  La  Salle, 
for  the  selection  of  the  title  the  dearest  to  the  heart  of  the  Chris- 
tian: "Alone  worthy  to  bear  the  weight  of  the  world,  the  God- 
man!"  Would  that  the  title,  as  soon  as  the  first  church  ceased 
to  serve  as  a  suitable  shrine  for  the  performance  of  the  sacred 
mysteries  had  been  given  to  the  Church  built  afterwards,  the 
glory  of  the  Illinois  country. 

Sunday,  the  5th  of  August  dawned.  Caution  and  zeal  had 
insured  success  to  the  fit  performance  of  the  ceremonies;  devo- 
tion to  which  is  a  special  legacy  inherited  from  the  Holy  Founder 
of  the  Vincentians: 

"On  the  fifth  of  this  month  (Aug.)  we  celebrated  mass,  for 
the  first  time  in  the  new  church.  It  cost  me  more  trouble  and 
pain,  than  money.  It  was  very  pleasing  and  satisfactory  to 
see  the  joy  and  devotion  of  the  Catholics.  The  Saturday  even- 
ing previous  to  the  blessing  of  the  church,  the  bell  I  bought  in 
St.  Louis,  rung  for  the  first  time,  and  gave  notice  to  the  people 
of  the  ceremony  which  was  to  take  place,  in  the  morning  next. 
The  rain,  falling  all  the  night,  alarmed  me,  but  three  hours  be- 
fore the  mass,  the  sky  was  clear  as  crystal.  The  number  of 
people  was  very  great,  both  of  Catholics  and  Protestants.  They 
had  seldom  seen  any  ceremony  in  our  church.  From  twelve 
miles  to  one  hundred,  a  great  many  persons  came  to  see  the 


64  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

opening  of  the  first  Catholic  Church  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
We  began  with  a  hymn,   "Veni  Creator  Spiritus." 
"Spirit  Creator  of  mankind, 
Come  visit  every  pious  mind." 

Then  I  preached  and  explained  the  ceremony  that  was  to  be 
performed.  After  the  holy  water  was  blessed,  and  all  was  done 
according  to  the  rubrics  of  the  Roman  Ritual,  the  altar  was 
adorned  and  mass  celebrated,  in  which  I  preached  the  second 
time.  Two  small  boys  dressed  with  the  dress  of  the  choir,  as- 
sisted as  acolytes.  Eyerything  was  done  with  great  modesty 
and  devotion  and  poverty — I  had  only  rags  for  vestments^and 
with  great  pains  I  could  get  them.  In  the  evening  we  sang 
vespers.  Then  there  was  a  sermon ;  and  the  day  was  closedwith 
benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament." 

The  above  account  of  so  remarkable  an  event  is  far  from  the 
pen  of  the  Superior  of  the  Mission,  written  to  Father  Timon,  the 
visitor,  August  24th,  1838. 

The  St.  Louis  Cathedral,  that  had  been  dedicated  in  1834, 
has  not  anything  to  commemorate  the  great  event  more  digni- 
fied than  the  record  of  the  dedication  of  the  La  Salle  Log  Church, 
carefully  written  in  the  book  of  baptismal  records,  from  which 
the   following,    "verbum   verbo,"   is   taken: 

Ad  majorem  Dei  gloriam.  Die  5th  Augusti  anni  reparatae 
salutis  1838,  quinto  circiter  mense,  post  adventum  nostrum  in 
istis  regionibus,  Ecclesiam  hanc  in  pago  La  Salle  ad  honorem 
Dei,  sub  titulo  S.  S.  Crucis  D.  N.  J.  C.  fidelis  populi  largitate 
media  tribuente,  pro  tempore  Augustia,  ex  lignis  construetam, 
Ilhni,  ac  Revdmi  D.  D.  Josephi  Rosati  Sti.  Ludovia  auctoritate, 
Revdo.  Dno.  Aloysio  Parodi  Cong.  Missionis  assistente,  magno 
fidelium  concursu,  solemni  ritu  juxta  Ritualit  Romani  praescept- 
um,  benedix  fidem,  etc.,  L  B.  Raho,  Cong.  Miss. 

Aloys.  Parodi,  Cong.  Miss. 
Translation. 

For  the  greater  honor  and  glory  of  God.  On  the  5th  day 
of  August  in  the  year  of  the  Redemption,  1838,  the  fifth  month 
after  our  coming  into  those  parts,  authorized  by  the  Most  Illus- 
trious, and  Most  Rev.  Joseph  Rosati,  C.  M.  Bishop  of  St.  Louis, 
Rev.  Wm.  Aloysius  Parodi,  and  a  great  multitude  of  the  faith- 
ful present,  this  church  in  the  village  of  La  Salle,  built,  owing 
to  hard  times,  of  wood,  and  through  offerings  of  a  faithful  peo- 
ple, I  dedicated  to  the  honor  of  God,  under  the  title  of  the  Most 


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STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  65 

Holy  Cross  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     For  testimony  of  which, 
etc.,  I.  B.  Raho,  Cong.  Miss. 

Aloys.  Parodi,  Cong.  Miss. 
The  event  of  the  dedication  of  the  first  church  between  St. 
Louis   and   Chicago   might   well   arouse   holy  enthusiasm,   and 
spread  feelings  of  holy  delight  in  the  nature  of  priests  and  faith- 
ful.    The  wording  of  the  above  record  opened  out  the  hearts 
of  all  that  witnessed  the  ceremonies  of  that  great  day.     The 
dedication  four  years  previous  of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Louis, 
which  drew  a  large   multitude,   among  them  high  dignitaries 
of   Church   and   State,   had  not   been   celebrated  with   deeper 
satisfaction;    although  between  the  noble  Roman  style  of  St. 
Louis,  and  the  log-cabin  church  of  La  Salle,  no  comparison  can 
be  instituted.    To  the  self-sacrificing  Missioner,  and  the  generous 
and  faithful  of  the  latter  place,  the  event  marked  an  era  of  decided 
change  in  many  and  most  important  ways.     An  end  had  at 
last  come  to  the  series  of  shifting  scene,  where  the  church,  at 
one  time  was  a  boarding-house,  at  another  time,  a  room  in  a 
log-cabin,  at  another  in  the  enclosure  of  a  large  elm  tree ;  when 
the  good  people  had  to  limit  this  devotion  to    the  holy  mass 
of  Sunday  and  Holidays;   and  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  Baptism, 
Penance  and  Marriage  had  been  administered  in  a  way  that 
told  priest  and  people,  ininister  and  receivers,  that  the  absence 
of  solemnity  from  the  great  actions,  was  painfully  felt  in  the 
absence  of  the  church.     Then  what  to  the  Catholic  living  by 
faith,  is  a  foretaste  of  Heaven,  the  doors  of  the  church  at  any 
hour  of  the  day,  would  now  be  opened  for  him ;  and  in  Presence 
of  his  Creator  and  Savior  under  sacramental  forms,  he  would  be 
at  liberty  to  enter,  to  plead  pardon  for  his  sins,  to  ask  grace  to  con- 
fess and  power  to  renounce  them,  to  become  resigned  to  his  lot 
in  life,  and  to  view  this  world  as  if  he  were  to  leave  it  at  any 
moment.     The  new  church  would  have  above  all,  to  the  child, 
now  come  to  the  rosy  dawn  of  reason,  a  strong  attraction  and 
make  a  deep  impression  of  what  the  house  of  God  is  and  requires ; 
everything  before  and  around  him — altar  and  lights,  and  priests 
and  offerings,  the  calm,  subdued  recollection,  the  deep  rever- 
ence, the  devout  sighs  of  the  adorers,  would  speak  to  the  mind 
and  excite  the  imagination  of  the  youth ;  whilst  all  that  he  took 
in  would  grow  up  to  be  part  of  that  religious  training,  which 
»  should  ever  mark  him  as  a  Christian.      The  little  bell  sum- 
moning him  to  the  Angelus,  at  dawn,  at  noon,  and  eve;  to  the 


66  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

Holy  Mass  daily  and  on  Sundays  and  Holidays  would,  were  he 
ever  to  stray  from  his  God,  be  a  powerful  means  to  lead  him 
back;  if  ever  faithful,  to  strengthen  the  more  his  affections  for 
the  church  of  his  boyhood.  Like  Samuel  of  old,  it  would  be 
here  in  the  presence  of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  he  would  ask  the  Lord 
to  make  known  His  will;  he  would  hear  the  call  to  consecrate 
to  the  service  of  the  Altar,  to  deserve  to  enroll  his  name  as  one 
of  the  band  of  the  humble  Vincent  of  Paul,  become  an  eye  to 
the  blind,  a  foot  to  the  lame,  and  the  father  of  the  poor. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Log-Cabin  Home  of  the  Missioners. 

"Per  varios  casus  et  tot  discrimina  rerum  tendimiis  in  Latium,  sedes 
ubi  fata  quietas  ostendunt." 
Through  various  mishaps  and  trying  adventures,  we  steer  to  Latium, 
where  destiny  has  provided  the  blessing  of  peace  and  plenty. 

The  Aeneid,  book    i. 

The  contracts  for  building  the  church  and  the  Missioners* 
house  had  been  given  out  at  the  same  time.  As  the  day  of 
dedication  opened  the  church  to  the  people,  the  eve  of  the 
dedication  opened  the  new  house  to  the  Fathers.  The  farewell 
of  the  Fathers  to  the  hearth  that  had  so  long  warmed  and  cheered, 
occasioned,  as  was  naturally  looked  for,  from  the  intercourse  of 
an  intelligent  and  pious  Catholic  family  with  missioners  cour- 
teous of  manner,  and  irreproachable  of  life,  quite  a  stir.  It  was 
hard  for  such  natures  to  pla^^  an  indifferent  part,  impossible  not 
to  speak  the  eloquence  of  the  heart.  At  the  departure  of  St. 
Vincent  from  the  house  of  Gondi,  the  sorrow  of  the  family,  of 
the  holy  madam  above  all,  could  only  be  made  light,  by  the 
promise  made  by  the  saint,  that  he  would  return.  The  good 
sense  of  the  Byrne  family  had  then  to  sacrifice  feeling  to  ex- 
pediency ;  and  the  utility  and  necessity  which  urged  the  Fathers 
to  leave  their  temporary  abode  for  their  new  home,  far  out- 
weighed in  the  minds  of  their  benefactors,  the  joy  and  pleasure 
the  presence  of  the  Fathers  afforded.  They  would  repair  to 
their  new  quarters;  but  the  example  they  had  set,  from  the 
hour  the  little  daughter  of  the  family  had  read,  in  the  name  of 
the  people  of  La  Salle,  the  welcome  to  the  first  Missioners,  until 
now,  the  hour  of  departure  to  their  new  home,  would  be  a  frag- 
rance filling  the  whole  house.  The  acts  of  resignation,  of  self- 
denial  brought  out  by  their  straitened  circumstances,  by  the 
cruel  scenes  of  strife  and  blood-shed  witnessed  on  the  canal,  by 
the  horrors  of  the  cholera  under  which  the  new  Mission  had 
groaned,  would  be  treasured  up  by  the  host  as  large  payments 

^67) 


68  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

the  guests  had  made.  Indeed  the  honest  pride  that  Ut  up  the 
features  and  spoke  in  the  language  of  the  grand  old  man  and 
his  venerable  wife,  witnessed  oftentimes  by  the  writer,  as  often 
as  a  missionary  would  make  a  call,  and  introduce  in  the  run  of 
a  chat,  the  name  of  Raho  or  Parodi,  or  both,  was  an  evidence  of 
the  place  the  fathers  occupied  in  sweet  affection  and  recollection. 
The  generous  God  who  loveth  the  cheerful  giver  will  repay. 
"He  that  giveth  to  a  prophet,  in  the  name  of  a  prophet,  shall 
receive  the  reward  of  the  prophet.  But  he  that  give  a  cup  of 
cold  water  in  My  name,  shall  not  lose  his  reward."  What  re- 
ward in  kind  and  degree  shall  the  generous  God  bestow  for  long 
and  noble  services  done  with  Christian  unselfishness  in  favor 
of  His  annointed?  It  is  worth  while  to  attempt  a  pen  picture 
of  the  rustic  mansion  which  sheltered  for  fourteen  years  so  many 
holy  and  learned  missioners,  venerable  and  hallowed  in  so  many 
ways  by  visits  from  distinguished  ecclesiastics,  Joseph  Rosati,  the 
first  bishop  of  St.  Louis,  the  venerable  Archbishop,  his  succes- 
sor— Kenrick,  then  in  the  first  months  of  his  episcopacy,  that 
unwearied  worker  as  priest  and  bishop,  John  Timon.  The 
thought,  even,  much  less  the  fact  of  sketching  primitive  build- 
ings, and  not  one  of  the  early  missioners  was  ignorant  of  the 
art  of  planning  and  sketching,  was  not  entertained.  To  catch 
the  views  of  the  buildings  and  surroundings  of  the  early  days, 
would  have  been  treated  as  an  inroad  decidedly,  on  time  hon- 
ored traditions.  This  is  to  be  lamented.  For  what,  in  the 
absence  of  the  real  can  be  a  more  faithful  substitute  to  recall 
and  refresh  the  memory  of  what  has  been,  and  is  not,  than  the 
canvas  or  the  type  embodying  the  features  of  the  original. 
Except  the  freshness  the  home  and  surroundings  wore  on  the 
opening  evening  '38,  they  had  not  undergone  much  change, 
unless  change  for  the  better,  when  the  writer  first  took  them  in, 
in  the  days  of  '51.  Built  of  logs  roughly  trimmed,  laid  one  on 
the  other  at  right  angles,  the  cabin  was  carried  up  to  the  height 
of  fourteen,  in  width  sixteen,  and  length  thirty  feet. 

A  portion  of  the  western  wall  of  the  church  served  the  pur- 
pose of  the  eastern  wall  of  the  cabin.  Its  thatched  straw  roof 
was  spliced  with  that  of  the  church;  the  northern  windows 
facing  a  charming,  sloping  forest  of  elm,  hickory  and  oak;  the 
front  southward  opening  on  the  beautiful  Illinois  valley.  The 
orchard  of  the  locust,  poplar  and  peach,  that  had  been  planted 
and  nursed  by  the  hands  of  Fathers  Raho  and  Parodi,  in  front 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  -^9 

of  the  residence,  had  grown  as  to  clasp  in  its  embrace  and  to 
ma"ke  of  the  first  home,  a  spot  as  romantic,  attractive  and  pictur- 
esque, as  Virgil  in  his  pastorals,  or  Thomson  in  his  seasons,  the 
zealous  admirers  of  rural  beauty  could  wish.  Into  five  rooms 
and  a  small  hall,  the  shanty  was  divided  up.  The  last  named 
was  used  as  a  dining-room.  On  the  occasion  of  distinguished 
visitors,  the  room  of  one  of  the  Fathers  served  the  hospitable 
purpose.  The  space  between  the  logs  had  not  been  filled,  much 
less  had  the  mud  plaster  been  put  on.  Bed-steads,  bedding, 
six  chairs,  a  table  service,  an  old  table,  a  cook  stove,  a  heating 
stove — for  the  traditional  cabin  hearth  in  the  bitter  zero  weather 
was  insufficient  to  give  comfort — the  old  bags  and  trunks,  which 
had  been  probably  contemporaries  of  St.  Vincent,  all  the  above 
mentioned  found  their  way  to  the  unpretending  cabin  home. 

About  fifty  yards  northwest  from  the  house  were  the  barn 
and  cow  sheds. 

"Indulgent  memory  fades! 
And  hence  that  calm  delight  the  portrait  gives, 
We  gaze  on  every  feature  till  it  lives." 

To  the  Missioners',  "Home,  the  sacred  refuge  of  our  life," 
had  at  last  come.  Free  and  independent  in  their  own  possession 
they  sat.  As  humble  as  it  looked,  it  was  home;  it  was  their 
castle."  "Every  man's  house  is  his  own  castle."  They  felt 
themselves,  and  they  were,  lords  of  their  rugged  and  rustic 
mansion,  in  the  enjoyment  of  that  refreshing  relief  home  affords, 
and  of  a  calm  the  apostolic  life  craves,  to  give  its  strength 
and  durableness. 

"An  exile-from  home,  splendor  dazzles  in  vain, 
O!  give  me  the  lowly  thatched  cottage  again! 
Home,  home,  sweet  home! 
There's  no  place  like  home." 

The  calm  solitude  of  their  new  abode  was  in  every  way  what 
St.  Vincent  would  have  desired.  It  was  a  haven  after  turmoil, 
the  retreat  of  a  Carthusian  after  the  battle  of  an  apostle.  The 
Missioner  had  his  room  furnished  with  bed,  wash-stand,  desk, 
the  scanty  library  of  professional  books,  the  image  of  his  cruci- 
fied God,  pictures  of  the  Virgin  Mother,  St.  Joseph,  a  relic  of 
St.  Vincent,  his  father — every  thing  breathing  the  profession  of 
poverty — for  he  was  vowed  to  the  love  of  the  poor.  "Ad  salu- 
ten  pauperum."  The  habits  of  early  training,  like  ministering 
angels,  waited  on  them.     They  had  learned  that  to  perform  the 


70  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

many  and  various  duties  connected  with  their  home,  the  cleverest 
servant  a  Missioner  could  ask  and  command  would  be  himself. 
Hence  the  neatness  and  evidence  of  order  the  rooms  of  the  old 
confreres  presented  every  morning  after  breakfast,  when  the 
routine  of  study  or  missionary  work  was  in  order.  Hitherto 
the  peculiar  situation  which  had  been  theirs,  rendered  the  ob- 
servance of  the  rule  in  many  instances  impracticable.  Even 
now  the  like  condition  of  affairs  betimes  would  go  on.  Incon- 
veniences would  take  place,  privations  would  be  borne.  The 
kitchen  of  the  house  had  not  as  yet  its  own  larder;  but  there 
were  larders  in  the  kitchens  of  Mrs.  John  Cody  and  Mrs.  John 
Connerton,  too  glad  to  open  and  share  their  goodly  stores  to 
the  spiritual  fathers.  "The  priests  ate  their  meals,"  writes 
Grandmother  Connerton,  now  in  her  84th  year,  "at  our  house 
during  the  time  the  church  and  house  were  being  chinked  and 
plastered  with  mud."  As  the  family  of  Lazarus  fed  the  Son 
of  God,  so  did  the  Byrnes,  the  Codys,  the  Connertons,  feed, 
wash,  and  mend  for  the  representatives  of  the  Lord.  "My 
heart  was  scalded  for  over  a  year,  mending  and  patching  their 
old  cassocks,"  complained,  good-naturedly,  the  oldest  living 
friend  of  the  Fathers. 

Nor  was  the  satisfaction  experienced  by  the  people  at  view- 
ing the  Fathers  ensconced  in  their  new  quarters,  a  mere  passing 
one.  The  happy  effects  of  the  change  were  genuinely  felt. 
For  all  that  had  tended  or  might  have  tended,  when  the  Mission- 
aries lived  under  a  borrowed  roof,  to  make  the  people  shy  of  the 
house,  existed  no  longer.  To  seek  consolation  in  sorrow,  to 
find  peace  in  anxiety,  to  ask  advice  in  doubt,  with  the  conviction 
that  what  would  take  place,  neither  the  curious  eye,  nor  the 
evil  mind  would  have  occasion  to  feed  its  malice,  were  bles- 
sings hailed  and  shared  in  by  the  fiock  as  soon  as  the  door  of 
the  first  house  of  the  Shepherds  opened. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

How  the  Missioners  Promoted  Growth  of  Piety  among  the  People. 
The  First  Christmas  at  La  Salle. 

"Give  us  particulars  of  your  preservation." — Shakespeare. 

In  the  status  of  the  La  Salle  Mission,  a  few  months  had 
wrought  a  decided  change  for  the  better..  Missioners  and  flock 
could  hardly  believe  what  they  witnessed.  "Help  me,  sir 
and  dear  confrere,  to  thank  the  Lord  for  the  blessings  He  has 
designed  to  pour  out  upon  our  ministry,  and  for  the  good  among 
these  people.  Ten  months  ago  these  poor  people  were  a  prey 
to  vice.  They  used  a  beverage,  a  detestable  liquor  they  name 
whiskey,  a  very  poison  for  soul  and  body.  They  remind  one  of 
that  Niolo  spoken  of  in  the  life  of  St.  Vincent.  So  extraordinary 
is  the  change,  that  we  acknowledge  it  a  very  miracle  of  grace. 
A  case  of  drunkness  has  not  been  seen  for  five  months;  the 
Sacraments  are  frequently  received;  no  Sunday  dawns  without 
witnessing  at  the  holy  table  a  large  number  of  communicants. 
The  severity  of  the  weather  by  no  means  lessens  the  number." 
In  this  strain  the  Superior  pours  out  his  soul  to  Father  Fiorillo, 
the  assistant  of  the  General  at  Paris.  With  a  neat,  cosy  church 
instead  of  a  boarding-shanty,  a  home  in  place  of  a  borrowed 
roof,  to  shelter,  a  school  for  the  hitherto  rambling,  unchecked 
youth,  where  the  wise  and  learned  Mr.  Scully  brought  discipline 
by  love  of  learning  or  fear  of  the  ferrule,  for  once,  the  Fathers 
were  joyous.  "They  had  sown  in  tears,  and  in  joy  they  were 
reaping."  They  would  as  they  did,  go  on  to  apply  their  time 
and  exercise  their  zeal  to  build  up  in  the  hearts  of  the  poor,  the 
nobler  temple  of  solitude  and  lasting  piety.  No  material  build- 
ings, no  matter  how  convenient,  useful  and  durable,  can  ever 
be  a  substitute  for  that  supernatural  life,  which  must  live  and 
act  in  the  body  of  a  mission  as  the  soul  lives  and  acts  in  the 
body,  unless  a  corpse  may  be  said  to  live  and  act  out  the  requisite 
elements  of  holiness  of  life.  "Dust  is  the  mere  body,  and  into 
dust  it  shall  return."     There,  there  is  no  life  nor  action. 

(71) 


72  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

To  make  of  the  center  congregation,  worthy  of  the  place  it 
occupied,  the  model  mother  church  for  the  missions  then  form- 
ing and  would  be  formed,  was  the  uppermost  thought  of  the 
Fathers.  Nothing  would  more  fitly  tend  to  that  end,  than  the 
dignified  and  exact  study  and  practice  of  the  beautiful,  touching 
and  sublime  ceremonial  of  the  Church.  And  what  had  St.  Vin- 
cent, by  word  and  example,  more  impressed  upon  his  Missioners 
than  in  view  of  the  awful  mysteries  of  the  Altar,  to  act  as  the 
beloved  prophet  at  the  burning  bush,  or  as  Elias  when  the 
Majesty  of  the  Lord  was  passing  by,  and  to  pour  out  into  the 
hearts  of  the  adorers,  that  spirit  of  faith  that  moved  and  con- 
trolled them  in  offering  up  the  ''Verbum  caro  factum"  on  the 
mystic  altar.  As  St.  Teresa  was  ready  to  give  her  life  for  a 
single  ceremony  of  the  altar,  so  if  called  upon,  should  the  Mis- 
sioners be.  The  home  of  the  Mission  would  wear  the  features 
of  the  home  of  the  poor;  but,  where  it  was  possible,  the  most 
elaborate  display  of  wealth  would  be  forced  into  service  to  do 
homage  to  the  Divine  Priest  and  Divine  Victim.  The  vener- 
ableness  of  the  ceremonies,  their  nature  to  keep  alive  the  faith 
and  arouse  the  tenderest  and  strongest  feelings  of  the  heart; 
to  explain  the  mysteries  of  Redemption,  to  recall  the  remem- 
brance of  God's  special  favors;  to  do  homage  to  the  Divine 
Majesty,  to  cherish  that  inward  worship  of  God,  to  preserve 
religion,  to  distinguish  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  from  the 
sects,  each  and  all  the  above  motives  urged  to  the  due  celebration, 
the  liturgy  of  the  altar  demands. 

By  order  of  the  illustrious  and  venerable  Joseph  Rosati, 
Lazarist,  and  first  Bishop  of  St.  Louis,  the  ceremonial  of  Baldes- 
chi  was  done  from  the  Italian  into  the  English  language.  Indeed 
the  writer  has  it  on  the  authority  of  Rev.  James  Bulrando,  C.  M., 
that  the  learned  Bishop  himself  translated  the  work  in  order  to 
bring  the  young  Church  in  the  United  States  to  the  study  and 
practice  of  what  was  done  in  the  sanctuary  of  Rome,  the  mother 
of  all  the  churches.  In  the  early  days  of  this  century  in  the 
Republic,  priests  having  the  cure  of  soul  should,  where  possible, 
sing  Mass  and  Vespers  on  all  Sundays  and  holidays  of  obligation. 
How  attempt  this  in  La  Salle?  How  get  together  the  material 
for  a  choir?  Robbed  of  their  share  in  the  solemn  practice  of 
the  ceremonial  of  the  church,'  by  the  penal  laws  of  England, 
how  could  the  simple  Irish  Catholic  of  the  Illinois  country  ven- 
ture to  pose  as  artists  and  challenge  criticism?     The  material 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  73 

for  a  practical,  than  for  an  opera  exhibition,  one  that  would 

suit  the  times,  than  answer  the  hypercritical  of  after  days  was, 

however,  on  the  ground.     None  acquainted  with  the  manners 

and  customs  of  the  Gael,  will  dare  to  deny  it,  the  inborn  gifts 

of  music  and  poetry,  the  power  of  melody  and  harmony,  the 

immortal  harp,  its  emblem  of  joy  and  sorrow  which  it  had  ever, 

on  the  generations  of  the  old  land,  exercised  great,  glorious,  and 

lasting. 

"Hence  it  came  that  this  soft  harp  so  long  hath  been  known, 
To  mingle  love's  language  with  sorrow's  sad  tone." 

The  voice  that  eased  the  hours  of  toil  in  the  harvest  field 

and  at   the   plow,  that  rang  out  merrily  at  the  wedding,  and 

fell  in  plaintive  notes  at  thQ  bier,  that  shook  the  cabin  walls 

with  laughter,  and  filled  the  eye  with  tears;  that 

'  Once  in  the  fire  of  youthful  emotion, 
Sang  the  bold  anthem  of  'Erin  go  Bragh." 

in  freshness,  sweetness  and  volume  were  now  the  same.  In  the 
quiet  of  a  La  Salle  autumn  evening,  or  at  the  heart  of  a  La  Salle 
winter  night,  the  spirit  of  a  song  and  harmless  dance,  gave 
freshness  to  the  little  village ;  and  the  rustic  church  and  the  home 
of  the  fathers  gave  back  the  echoes  of  the  stirring  song  and  the 
rolling  flute,  to  the  light-hearted  cabins  of  Johnnie  Hynes  and 
John  Allen,  whence  they  had  soared. 

With  such  material  of  voice  and  instrument,  where  the  diffi- 
culty to  form  a  choir  that  would  be  flattering  to  the  members, 
gratifying  to  the  parish  and  creditable  to  the  proper  celebration 
of  the  divine  mysteries!  It  is  true,  owing  to  the  poverty  of  the 
mission,  the  plural-tongued  organ  would  not  be  there  to  lend 
its  powerful  aid ;  but  at  the  presence  of  the  richest  of  all  musical 
instruments,  the  human  voice,  accompanied  by  the  bewitching 
violin  and  mellow  flute,  the  absence  of  the  great  church  instru- 
ment would  hardly  be  felt.  Father  Raho,  the  Superior,was  a 
born  musician — the  good  people  remember  his  musical  talents. 
The  organ  had  been  his  choice  and  his  touch  would  not  have 
offended  even  a  Mozart.  The  selection  of  the  choir  was  with 
him,  and  a  right  good  use  he  made  of  his  power.  The  members, 
when  asked,  not  only  offered  themselves  with  generousness, 
but  the  very  thought  that  their  time  and  talents  would  go  to 
act  as  handmaids  to  the  solemnity  of  the  great  High  Priest, 
offering  himself,  filled  them  with  humility,  yet  with  a  feeling  of 
praiseworthy  pride.  That  venal  action  of  putting  their  gift  up 
and  exacting  payment  for  the  same,  when  the  services  of  religion 


74  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

were  in  question,  would  have  been  fifty  years  ago,  as  startling 
to  choir  and  people  as  the  wildest  fairy  tale. 

Within  the  sanctuary  on  the  Gospel  side,  embracing  the 
window  in  its  space,  screened  from  the  gaze  of  the  worshippers 
by  a  deep  red  damask  curtain,  the  choir  performed.  The  sun 
was  not  a  whit  more  punctual  to  his  hours  of  duty  than  were  the 
choir  on  Sundays  and  festivals,  to  their  sublime  exercises. 
Johnny  Hynes,  who  had  lent  his  house  to  the  services  of  religion, 
when  there  had  been  no  church,  now  lent  his  musical  tenor  voice 
to  the  like  services.  A  lady  of  remarkable  pitch  and  sweetness 
of  voice,  whose  name  unfortunately  is  forgotten,  was  the  so- 
prano; Dooley  performed  on  the  fiute;  another  who  filled  up 
the  number  of  choristers,  whose  fitness  has  buried  away  his  name, 
ever  graced  the  occasions.  In  these  primitive  times,  De  Monte's 
simple  figured  mass  had  a  wider  fame  than  the  immortal  com- 
positions of  the  renowned  masters  of  music.  On  all  occasions 
this  production  was  given  and  rendered  by  the  choir  in  a  style, 
if  not  always  agreeable  to  the  congregation,  yet  most  gratifying 
to  the  performers.  Eye  and  ear  witnesses,  wholly  in  old  times, 
whilst  giving  due  meed  of  praise  to  the  unselfish  and  zealous 
band  of  musicians,  yet,  at  this  day,  cannot  restrain  bursts  of 
genuine  laughter  as  often  as  they  recall  the  choir  and  the  red 
curtains,  aglow  with  the  sun's  light,  and  the  nose  of  Johnny 
Hynes  the  tenor  singer,  thereon  photographed. 

Christmas  was  at  hand;  the  first  religious  celebration  at 
La  Salle,  of  God  with  us,  the  new  born  King.  Whatsoever 
Christian  thought  could  invent  and  Christian  heart  in  wealth 
of  affection  could  offer,  would  be  here.    For,  as  Shakespeare  says: 

"The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strain'd; 
It  droppeth  as  a  gentle  rain  from  Heaven, 
Upon  the  place  beneath ;  it  is  twice  bless'd. 
It  blesses  him  that  gives,  and  him  that  takes." 
Milton  sings: 

"This  is  the  month,  and  this  the  happy  morn, 
Wherein  the  Son  of  Heaven's  eternal  King, 
Of  wedded  maid,  and  virgin-mother  born, 
Our  great  Redemption  from  above  did  bring. 
Wherein  our  Saviour's  birth  is  celebrated, 
■     The  bird  of  drawing  singeth  all  night  long; 
And  then,  they  say,  no  spirit  can  walk  abroad, 
The  nights  are  wholesoine,  there  no  planet  strikes, 
No  fairy  takes,  no  witch  hath  power  to  charm 
So  gracious  and  so  hallowed  is  the  time." 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  75 

Because  of  the  light  and  hearth  of  Christianity,  all  classes, 
but  above  all  the  heritage  of  the  Divine  Child — the  poor  would 
prepare  to  hasten  to  the  crib  to  pay  their  vows  to  Him,  so  like 
to  them.  The  shanty  would  wear  its  best  and  bring  forth  its 
rarest.  Poor  indeed  would  be  the  family  that  had  not  for  each 
one,  the  merry  welcome  of  a  merry  Christmas  and  the  Christmas 
box  to  offer,  with  expressions  of  tenderest  affections.  Bloom 
would  the  tree,  and  carols  would  be  sung  in  hamlet,  and  at  door, 
and  Christmas  Eve  usher  in  the  most  charming  and  happy  of  all 
the  year's  festivals  in  its  praiseworthy  bustle,  and  frolicsome  care 
would  already  glow  with  the  brightness  of  the  midnight  crib. 

The  church  was  the  object  that  attracted  the  hearts  of  the 
priest  and  people.  To  grace  the  log-cabin  shrine,  the  evergreen 
was  stripped.  The  hemlock  and  cypress  were  divested  of  their 
verdant,  boughs  and  loving  hands  twisted  into  ropes  and  hung 
them  in  graceful  foldings  around  the  interior  of  what  to  the 
Catholic  at  all  times,  but  especially  on  Christmas,  is  the  mid- 
night cave  with  its  group  of  mysteries.  The  sanctuary,  a  net  work 
of  forest  twigs  variegated  with  artificial  flowers,  opened  in  the 
center,  revealing  the  altar  ablaze  with  lights,  when  the  bell 
tolled  the  approach  of  the  midnight  services.  The  father,  writing 
to  Father  Fiorillo  at  Paris,  thus  describes  the  La  Salle  Christmas 
of  1838: 

"The  feast  of  Christmas  has  been  celebrated  in  a  very  affecting 
manner.  At  eleven  o'clock  Christmas  Eve,  the  bell  tolled,  an- 
nouncing the  commencement  of  the  office.  Lauds  were  sung 
first,  afterwards  the  Mass,  during  which  select  pieces  of  music, 
simple  in  composition  and  solemn  in  tone,  accompanied  with 
instruments,  were  executed,  producing  on  the  assembled  wor- 
shipers a  great  effect.  At  the  moment  of  the  elevation,  from 
every  side  of  the  chapel  were  heard  fervent  sighs,  which  moved 
us  to  tears  of  joy  and  consolation;  for  they  gave  evidence  of 
piety  and  elevation  of  all  hearts  at  the  remembrance  of  the  great 
mystery  and  birth  of  our  Savior  among  men.  At  dawn  many 
Low  Masses  were  offered  up;  at  noon  High  Mass  was  celebrated, 
and  in  the  afternoon  Vespers  and  Benediction  of  the  Holy  Sac- 
rament took  place.  An  immense  concourse  assisted  at  all  de- 
votions.    The  protestants  present  were  singularly  affected." 

The  abuses  of  Christmas  night,  which  had  pushed  the  au- 
thority of  the  Church  to  do  away  with  midnight  Mass  for  the 


76  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

public  on  occasion  of  Christmas,  had  not  crept  in  among  the 
good  people  of  La  Sallle  of  that  day.  Theirs  was  a  celebration 
fraught  with  "glory  to  God  in  the  highest  and  on  earth,  peace, 
good  will  to  men." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Condition  of  the  La  Salle  Mission  at  the  Opening  of  the  New 
Year,  1839 — Hoiv    "Sweet  Melting  Charity"  Urged  it. 

"  'Tis  not  in  fortune  to  command  success,  but  we'll  do  more,  Ho- 
ratio, we'll  deserve  it." 

Addison's  Cato. 

The  year  of  1838  had  closed,  and  the  seven  months'  child, 
for  such  was  the  age  of  the  La  Salle  Mission,  'mid  trials  of  various 
kinds  had  grown  beautiful  and  strong,  giving  tokens  of  its  future 
greatness.  "Quis  putas  puer  iste  erit,  nam  manus  Domini  cum 
ipso  est?"  The  labors  for  the  fathers  from  the  hour,  the  29th 
of  March,  'sS,  when  they  began  to  till  the  field,  until  New  Year's 
Day,  '39,  were  summed  up  in  the  following  table,  taken  from 
the  archives  of  the  St.  Louis  diocese,  to  which  the  La  Salle 
Mission  then  belonged : 

Baptisms  numbered 95 

Conversions  to  the  faith 4 

First  Communions 20 

Paschal  Communions S°° 

Marriages 7 

Deaths 8S 

Total  number  of  souls i  ,000 

Included  in  the  above  number  was  Ottawa,  the  only  out- 
mission  of  La  Salle  at  the  time.  No  reason  had  the  laborers,  at 
the  dawn  of  the  new  year,  "to  mourn  as  those  who  have  no  hope ;" 
for  the  wilderness  into  which  they  had  been  sent,  and  to  which 
they  had,  with  courage,  come,  by  their  heroic  efforts  had  been 
made  in  a  short  space  to  yield  a  goodly  harvest.  In  the  words 
of  the  great  Husbandman,  the  output  was  like  the  field  of  20. 
The  yield  of  60  and  100  would,  in  the  future  seasons,  follow. 

How  to  plan,  to  execute  for  the  living  suffering  members  of 
Christ,  was  the  controlHng  thought  of  the  fathers.  "Charity  is 
of  God,  and  everyone  that  loveth  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth 

(77) 


78  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

Him.  He  that  says  I  love  God,  and  hateth  his  brother  is  a  liar. 
He  that  shall  see  his  brother  in  need,  and  shall  shut  up  his  bowels 
from  him,  how  doth  the  charity  of  God  abide  in  him?"  To 
lighten  misery  by  bringing  relief,  and  strengthen  hope  by  pre- 
serving life,  were  the  problems  to  solve.  Orphans  had  been 
cast  on  the  village  world,  the  poor  sick  in  sore  need  of  a  balsam, 
had,  in  resignation,  to  bear  their  pitiable  lot.  Zeal  was  equal 
to  the  trying  hour.  "Divine  Providence  afforded  the  means  to 
save  these  poor  orphans.  In  the  meantime,  whilst  I  ran  through 
the  people  of  La  Salle  and  Ottawa  to  pick  them  up,  seven  or 
eight  had  fallen  victims  to  misery.  Of  the  number  of  those 
then  in  my  charge  and  in  a  most  lamentable  condition,  two  are 
already  at  St.  Louis  in  care  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity;  a  third  is 
with  the  Madames  of  the  Sacred  Heart ;  a  fourth  with  the  Sisters 
of  Loretto;  three  more  are  in  the  homes  of  as  many  pious  and 
charitable  families." 

Father  Raho  to  Father  Fiorillo,  assistant  to  the  superior 
general,  Annals,  vol.  25. 

In  the  mean  time,  "at  the  commencement  of  the  new  year, 
'39,  we  drew  up  a  petition  to  have  presented  to  the  State  Legis- 
lature, in  order  to  obtain  a  grant  of  land  on  which  to  build  a 
hospital,  whose  management  would  be  given  to  the  Sisters  of 
Charity.  But  as  there  was  a  clause  in  the  act  making  the  con- 
cession, which  could  not  be  allowed,  I  intend  to  have  it 
amended  when  Legislature  sits  next  January,  1840,  I  have  put 
back  until  the  spring  (1840),  the  projected  hospital.  Provided 
I  obtain  the  much  desirable  amendment,  the  good  God  will 
supply  the  means  to  make  real,  what  now  is  among  possible 
things."     See  vol.  9th.  of  Annals. 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the  La  Salle  Charity 
Hospital,  approved  February  23,  1839.  In  force  February  ist, 
1840. 

Section  i. — Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
represented  in  the  General  Assembly.  That  the  corporators  in 
the  act  to  which  this  is  an  amendment,  shall  have  two  years 
from  the  time  the  canal  commissioners  shall  select  the  land  as 
required  by  the  act  to  which  this  is  amendatory  to  comply 
on  their  part  with  the  provision  of  said  act :  Provided ;  It  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  commissioners  to  select  the  land  within  three 
months  from  the  passage  of  this  act  February  i ,  1 840.  Page  7  5 
Laws  of  111.,  1839-40. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  7q 

The  hospital  question  remained  unanswered.  As  the  village 
and  surroundings  of  La  Salle  then  were  supplied,  the  work  of 
charity,  unless  placed  on  an  independent  footing  by  individual 
or  state  endorsement,  would  be  short  lived.  Had  a  Mullanphy 
lived  at  the  time  in  the  mission,  as  the  Mullanphy — the  Christian 
philanthropist  lived  by  his  largesses,  in  the  thousands  of  poor 
of  all  conditions  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  La  Salle  would  not  have 
waited  fifty  years  as  it  has,  for  the  first  Catholic  refuge  to  open 
in  favor  of  the  poor  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  regular  appeals  to  the 
Superior  General  at  Paris,  made  by  the  Superior  of  the  Illinois 
Mission  for  monetary  aid  and  not  without  success,  to  assist  his 
struggling  people,  describe  clearly  the  situation.  As  the  hos- 
pital had  failed  to  become  a  reality,  there  was  something,  equally 
as  meritorious  and  practical  that  took  shape  and  assumed 
proportions,  not  in  wood  and  stone,  brick  and  mortar,  but  in 
the  hearts  of  the  lovers  of  God's  poor. 

A  union  was  formed  whose  aim  was  not  only  the  practice  of 
virtue  and  flight  of  vice,  but  that  practical  love  of  man,  for 
God's  sake,  by  the  constant  soHcitude  of  its  members  for,  and 
tender  care  of,  the  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare  of  the  helpless. 
To  the  individual  member  of  such  a  body,  the  union  would  prove 
untold  worth;  a  knowledge  desirable  for  association  with  the 
most  exemplary,  a  friendship  the  closest,  which  the  highest 
motive  for  human  action  can  produce,  a  claim,  if  ever  sorrow 
would  shade  the  life  of  any  of  its  members,  from  one  or  any 
cause,  to  large  and  active  sympathy.  To  the  body  of  the  people, 
the  result  of  brotherhood  would  show  innumerable  blessings; 
self-denial  practised,  scrupulous  attention  to  all  the  public 
services  of  the  Church,  to  monthly  confessions  and  communions, 
and  not  the  least,  the  unflagging  zeal  night  and  day  in  behalf  of 
the  poor  sick  of  every  form  of  disease.  The  whole  body  commu- 
nicating its  life  and  vigor  to  each  member,  and  each  member 
filled  with  the  spirit  and  full  of  the  vigor  of  the  body,  the 
union  would  stand  impregnable  "as  a  strong  city,"  and  as  pow- 
erful "as  a  triple  cord,  which  it  is  hard  to  break,"  as  magnificent 
"as  a  disciplined  army  moving  as  a  single  man." 

To  the  practical  pastor,  a  union  of  this  kind  commends 
itself;  for  it  is  a  power  ever  active  and  progressive,  yea,  often 
necessary,  to  administer  to  present  wants,  and  by  prudent  fore- 
sight to  hasten  to  apply  a  remedy  against  future  ills. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  hearts  of  the  people  had 


8o  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

been  closed  to  the  distressed  poor-sick.  By  no  means.  Charity 
was  kind;  and  mercy,  no  one  neglected  to  cultivate.  But  as 
there  was  no  organization  to  nurse  carefully  and  distribute 
prudently,  the  situation  was  like  what  St.  Vincent  formerly 
witnessed — either  a  feast  or  a  famine.  Nurses  and  delicacies 
in  abundance  to-day  would  enter  the  sick  room,  the  patient 
would  be  left  to-morrow  to  shift  for  himself.  Therefore  the 
state  of  things  which  had  inspired  the  apostle  of  charity  to 
institute  at  Bresse,  in  France,  in  the  year  1816,  the  Confraternity 
of  Charity,  inspired  his  Missioners  at  La  Salle  to  establish  in 
January,  1839,  the  same  confraternity.  Indeed,  on  occasions  of 
preaching  missions,  in  districts  where  the  poor  are  many,  and 
the  pastors  approve,  the  holy  founder  of  the  Mission  bids  the 
priests  leave  behind  this  heavenborn  comforter.  In  the  language 
of  the  heart,  the  union  is  mercy's  ministering  angel: 

"Thou  hast  called  me  thy  angel  in  moments  like  this, 
And  thy  angel  I'll  be,  'mid  the  horrors  of  this. 
Thro'  the  furnace  unshrinking,  thy  steps  to  pursue, 
And  shield  thee  and  save  thee." 

"Sweet  melting  charity  pours  out  her  heart." 
"Has  sorrow  thy  yovmg  day  shaded 
As  clouds  o'er  the  morning  fleet? 
Too  fast  have  thy  young  days  faded, 
That  ever  in  sorrow  were  sweet. 
Does  time  with  his  cold  wings  wither 
Each  feeling  that  once  was  dear? 
Come,  child  of  misfortune,  come  hither, 
I'll  weep  with  thee  tear  for  tear." 


THE    ACTUAL    ROCK    CHURCH    (2ND)    ST.    PATRICK'S. 


CHAPTER  XVI . 

Rules  of  the  Confraternity  of  Charity. 

"The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strain'd; 
It  droppeth  as  a  gentle  rain  from  heaven, 
Upon  the  place  beneath ;  it  is  twice  bless'd. 
It  blesses  him  that  gives,  and  him  that  takes." 

SHAKS. 

On  Sunday,  Jan.  14th,  1839,  in  the  log  church  after  the  High 
Mass,  the  people  had  an  opportunity  to  give  evidence  of  their 
charity.  In  a  short,  practical  instruction,  Father  Raho  laid  be- 
fore his  hearers  the  usefulness  and  advantages  of  forming  a  league, 
cementing  a  union  to  serve  Jesus  Christ  in  the  person  of  His  poor. 
He,  the  pastor,  would  not  expect,  much  less  would  he  ask,  the 
crowded  church  to  leave  and  go  into  distant  lands,  to  find  and 
feed  and  nurse  the  sick  and  the  destitute.  If  the  good  people 
before  him  would  "cast  their  bread  upon  the  waters"  would 
keep  the  wolf  from  the  door,  and  the  victim  from  the  grave,  fill 
their  hearts  with  joy,  and  get  back  with  double  interest  what 
they  would  lend,  ever  under  their  eye,  before  and  behind  them, 
lay  the  sick  and  helpless,  the  beloved  of  God  and  the  treasures 
of  His  church.  "The  poor  you  have  always  with  you."  If, 
the  pastor  continued,  the  conclusion  to  form  an  association  for 
the  poor  had  been  put  off  until  now,  it  was  only  that  the  necesr 
sity  for  such  a  union  would  be  visibly  felt,  and  the  hour  of  its 
formation  would  be  hailed  with  more  hearty  welcome;  it  would 
be  known  under  the  name  of  the  Confraternity  of  Charity.  The 
bare  mention  of  this  brotherhood,  opens  up  a  mine  of  purest 
gold,  immeasureable  in  value,  inexhaustable  in  resources,  given 
universally  to  the  key-bearers  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.  It 
recalls  the  hour  when  Vincent  of  Paul,  parish  priest  of  Chatillon 
in  France,  entering  on  a  certain  festival  in  the  pulpit,  was  asked 
by  a  lady  to  recommend  to  the  charity  of  the  worshippers,  a  poor 
family  lying  sick  and  distressed ;  the  heart  the  holy  priest  put  into 
his  appeal ;  the  melting  tone  that  moaned  through  the  crowd  and 

(8i^ 


82  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

quickened  all;  the  road  leading  to  the  poor  sick  hamlet,  filled 
with  a  throng,  many  coming  back  with  empty  baskets  from 
pity  and  misery,  and  above  all,  the  words  that  then  and  there 
made  the  life-giving  confraternity  a  fact.  "This  is  great  charity, 
but  not  well  directed.  The  poor  people  will  be  over-loaded  with 
provisions  for  a  few  days,  and  then  they  will  be  in  as.  much 
distress  as  before." 

The  son  of  St.  Vincent  at  La  Salle  had  every  reason  to  be 
satisfied  at  the  result  of  his  humble  yet  impressive  appeal.  "I 
remember  St.  Vincent,  and  I  have  endeavored  to  establish  the 
Confraternity  of  Charity  to  answer  the  necessities  of  the  poor, 
and  the  poor-sick.  Eight  days  ago — January  14th,  1839,  I 
made  known  my  mind  to  the  people,  and  I  have  a  membership 
of  fifty  persons."  On  the  same  subject,  a  little  later  he  writes: 
"I  conceived  and  carried  out  the  plan  to  establish  the  Confra- 
ternity of  Charity.  I  drew  up  the  rules,  whose  object  is  the 
reform  of  morals,  the  practice  of  virtue  and  the  assistance  of 
the  poor.  The  association  numbers  eighty  members.  All  rival 
one  the  other,  in  the  offices  of  charity  and  devotedness;  and 
whilst  they  win  the  esteem,  they  call  forth  at  the  same  time  the 
admiration  of  even  Protestants."     Vol.  5th  and  gth,  of  Annals. 

The  rule  of  that  widespread  organization  which  had  the 
humble  priest  left  nothing  beside,  would  have  made  him  the 
apostle  of  charity,  which  in  his  life-time  had  filled  France,  and 
since  has  filled  the  countries  beyond  with  his  imperishable 
fame,  is  here  for  the  pleasure  and  information  of  the  reader 
as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  St.  Vincent. 

I  St.  The  Confraternity  of  Charity  is  instituted  to  honor 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  His  holy  Mother,  and  to  assist  the 
poor  sick  of  the  place  where  it  is  established,  both  corporally 
and  spiritually;  corporally,  in  offering  nourishment  and  giving 
necessary  medicine  during  sickness;  spiritually,  in  affording  at 
the  proper  time,  aid  to  receive  the  divine  Sacraments  of  Penance 
and  the  Eucharist,  to  dispose  the  sick,  in  danger,  to  die  well,  and 
the  ailing  for  the  future,  to  live  well. 

2nd.  The  said  Confraternity  shall  consist  of  a  limited  num- 
ber of  single  and  married  women,  the  former  entering  the  union 
with  the  consent  of  parents,  the  latter  with  the  consent  of  their 
husbands.  On  Whit  Monday,  at  the  end  of  every  two  years, 
the  members  shall  ballot  in  presence  of  the  pastor,  for  choice  of 
officers;   namely,  for  directress,  treasurer  and  second  assistant. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  83 

The  ladies  receiving  the  plural  vote  shall  be  elected.  The  direc- 
tion of  the  said  Confraternity,  with  the  consent  of  the  pastor, 
shall  be  in  charge  of  said  officers.  For  procurator  the  members 
shall  elect  a  pious  and  charitable  man. 

3rd.     The  directress  shall  guard  and  see  that  the  other  mem- 
bers guard  the  rule;    welcome  the  poor-sick  of  the  parish, and 
with  the  consent  of  the  other  officers  discharge  them. 

4th.  The  treasurer  shall  submit  her  views  to  the  directress, 
keep  in  safe  or  under  lock  the  money  of  the  Confraternity.  The 
directress  and  treasurer  only  are  entitled  to  handle  the  funds.  At 
the  end  of  the  term  of  office,  the  treasurer  shall  show  her  books 
to  the  newly  elected  officers,  and  to  the  members,  in  presence  of 
the  pastor  and    parishioners. 

5th.  The  second  assistant  shall  consult  the  directress,  look 
after  the  linen  of  the  association,  furnish  with  the  advice  of  the 
directress,  when  needful,  the  wants  of  the  poor-sick,  and  when 
going  out  of  office,  show  as  the  treasurer,  her  books. 

6th.  The  bequests  made  to  the  Church,  by  families  or  indi- 
viduals, shall  be  in  charge  of  the  procurator.  He  will  issue 
cards  of  dismissal,  provide  for  the  Confraternity,  make  out,  if 
called  for,  the  accounts  of  the  treasurer,  keep  a  copy  of  the  rule 
and  act  of  establishment  of  the  Confraternity,  compare  the  ad- 
ministration of  affairs  with  the  rule,  file  a  list  of  membership, 
the  date  on  which  each  member  entered  the  Confraternity;  of 
death,  election  of  officers,  accounts,  the  number  of  patients 
assisted,  day  of  admission,  of  cure,  and  the  most  notable  events 
that  took  place. 

7th.  The  members,  each  in  her  turn,  shall  wait  on  the  poor- 
sick,  solicit  alms  in  the  church  and  from  the  neighbors  on  Sun- 
days and  festivals,  hand  over  the  offering  to  the  treasurer,  and 
make  known  the  amount  to  the  procurator.  On  every  first  or 
third  Sunday  of  the  month,  all  shall  approach  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, at  the  Mass  offered  up  on  the  altar  of  the  Confraternity, 
and  when  convenient,  shall  take  part  in  the  procession  celebrated 
on  that  occasion,  in  singing  the  Litanies  of  the  Most  Adorable 
Name  of  Jesus,  and  of  the  Holy  Virgin.  The  like  ceremonies 
will  take  place  and  attendance  be  given  on  the  festival  of  the 
Most  Holy  Name. 

8th.  As  persons  united  to  and  bound  by  the  love  of  our 
Lord,  they  shall  cherish,  visit  and  console  one  another  in  afflic- 
tion and  sickness,  pay  the  last  tribute  of  affection  to  their  re- 


84  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

mains,  offer  the  Holy  Communion  for  their  intention,  and  for 
each  dear  departed,  provide  a  Solemn  High  Mass.  The  pastor 
and  procurator,  at  their  departure  out  of  life,  shall  enjoy  the 
same  blessings,  and  be  paid  the  like  tribute  of  affection.  The 
poor  shall  be  buried  with  a  Low  Mass,  and  the  Confraternity 
shall  approach  the  Holy  Communion  at  it  in  a  body. 

9th.  Each  patient  shall  be  served  at  every  meal  with  abund- 
ance of  bread,  veal,  or  mutton,  a  bowl  of  gruel,  half  pint  of  wine. 

10.  On  the  fast  days,  besides  bread,  wine  and  gruel,  eggs 
and  butter  in  abundance  shall  be  given.  Those  that  cannot  use 
flesh  meat  will  be  provided  with  soup  and  fresh  eggs  four  times 
a  day.     Special  careshall  be  given  those  in  danger  of  death." 

What  chiefly  must  strike  the  Christian  reader,  attentively 
studying  the  wording  of  the  above  rule,  is  that  charity  detected 
in  every  word,  the  close  study  of  and  the  means  to  answer  the 
wants  of  the  poor,  the  High  Exemplar  held  up  for  the  members 
to  copy,  and  what  must  be  put  in  practice,  to  render  their  ser- 
vices worthy  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the  prayers  of  His  tenderest 
friends — the  despised  poor  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Historic  Peoria  and  Her  Sister  Missions. 

With  no  ordinary  feeling  of  delight  may  the  historian  near 
the  subject  of  the  chief  city  of  the  Illinois  Valley — the  Pitoumi 
of  the  Red-man,  called  Peoria.  Its  physical  attractions  alone 
magnetized  the  Peoria  and  Winnebago  tribes,  for  flood  and  field. 
Fish  and  game  in  abundance  were  found  in  its  surroundings — 
the  former  in  the  expansive  lake,  and  the  latter  in  the  forests 
and  prairies  that  bounded  it  north  and  south. 

The  gradual  ascent  of  its  lime-stone  bed,  rising  to  the  dis- 
tance of  over  two  miles,  and  crowned  with  a  terrace  that  opened 
into  broad  and  rolling  prairie  land,  over  which  the  buffalo  grazed, 
naturally  caught  the  eye  and  quickened  the  nature  of  the  keen 
observer  of  nature  and  art.  He  would,  as  he  did,  linger  around 
the  glassy  lake  that  mirrored  the  primeval  forest,  for  days,  and 
parting,  feel  a  loneliness,  as  for  a  friend's  loss. 

It  was  here  that  the  illustrious  explorer,  Marquette,  on  re- 
turning from  his  Mississippi  Exploration,  touched,  as  he  was 
heading  northward.  "On  the  way  Father  Marquette  met  the 
Peorias  and  spent  three  days  with  them,  explaining  in  each 
cabin  the  fundamental  principles  of  religion.  They  brought 
him  a  dying  child  which  he  baptised,  the  first  recorded  admin- 
istration of  the  Sacrament  on  the  banks  of  the  great  river. 
O'Shea's  Catholic  Church  in  colonial  days — Vol.  ist,  Chap  5th. 
Here,  on  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  in  1680,  intrepid  Count  de 
La  Salle  established  a  post  and  named  it  Crevecoeur,  or  Shattered 
Heart,  because  of  his  grief  occasioned  by  the  ungratefulness  and 
defection  of  many  of  his  crew. 

Here  the  Franciscan  Hennepin  and  brothers,  about  the  same 
time,  reared  a  log  church  for  the  Indian  Neophytes,  and  their 
French  allies,  the  second  shrine  erected  in  Illinois  as  Kaskaskia 
— Starved  Rock  was  the  first. 

The  disheartened  Franciscans,  fleeing  from  the   terrible  Iri- 

(85) 


86  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

quois,  where  cruelty  all  but  wiped  out  the  Peorias,  to  the  Jesuit 
Mission  at  Green  Bay,  can  only  write:  "All  we  have  done  has 
been  to  see  the  condition  of  these  nations  and  to  open  the  way 
to  the  Gospel  and  to  the  Missions,  having  baptized  only  two 
children,  whom  I  saw  at  the  point  of  death." 

Here  the  Peorias  are  visited  by  Father  Gravier,  S.  J.  in  1689, 
appointed  Vicar  General  of  all  the  western  Missions  of  New 
France,  part  of  which  was  Illinois,  and  the  baptisms  between 
March  30th  and  Nov.  29th,  1693,  numbered  206  souls.  Here,  off 
and  on,  the  sons  of  St.  Ignatius  administered  to  the  spiritual, 
and  doubtless,  to  the  temporal  wants  of  the  thriftless  Indian 
and  a  few  French,  until  the  fall  of  Quebec,  and  with  it  the  fall 
of  French  power,  gave  the  whole  of  New  France  over  to  the 
bigoted  and  tyrannical  rule  of  Great  Britain.  The  Catholic 
Missions  henceforth  in  the  Illinois  Country  had  "no  habitation 
and  a  name."  For  though  the  colonies  won  their  independence, 
crushing  the  power  of  England  forever,  yet  had  the  many  tribes 
of  Illinois  Indians  perished — all  but  a  miserable  few,  in  the  hour 
"Old  Glory"  first  waved  over  the  Garden  State. 

The  Lazarist  Fathers,  sailing  for  the  first  time  the  Illinois 
River,  on  their  way  from  St.  Louis  to  La  Salle,  in  March,  1838, 
full  of  the  spirit  of  inquiry,  as  Missioners  of  the  old  church 
would  and  should  be,  gathered  from  crew  and  passengers  all 
possible  information  concerning  the  belief  of  the  inhabitants 
in  the  many  towns  the  boat  touched  at,  as  Merodosia,  in  Morgan, 
Beardstown,  in  Cass;  Havana,  in  Mason;  Pekin,  in  Tazewell; 
Lacon,  in  Marshall;  Hennepin,  in  Putman;  and  Peoria,  in 
Peoria  Co.  were  specially  noted. 

The  superior  of  the  La  Salle  Mission  ,  writing  to  the  Superior 
General,  Nozo,  at  Paris,  France,  January  ist,  1840,  says:  "When 
everything  ran  smoothly  in  and  around  the  La  Salle  House  I 
hunted  up  during  last  summer  and  autumn  large  numbers  of 
Catholics  scattered  over  the  country  and  along  the  IlHnois 
river  from  90  to  120  miles  southwest  of  La  Salle,  embracing 
people  of  different  nationalities.  •  The  most  desirable  are  found 
at  the  villages  of  Pekin,  La  Salle,  Prairie,  Kickpoo,  Black  Par- 
tridge, and  Lacon;  the  three  last  mentioned  had  never  before 
seen  a  priest.  At  Peoria  Catholics  are  like  the  gleanings  of  the 
harvest,  exceedingly  few,  and  .the  object  of  the  meanness  of  the 
Presbyterians.  However,  in  the  court  house  I  offered  the 
Holy  Mass  and  preached  in  presence  of  our  select  few,  and  a  big 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION  87 

number  of  Protestants.     The  sect  of  Presbyterians  have  a  school 
that  by  no  means  meets  the  wishes  of  the  citizens.     Accordingly 
the  people  have  urged  me  to  put  Sisters  in  their  places.     Indeed 
many  of  them  have  offered  me  ground,  on  which  to  build  a 
convent,  which  may  be  occupied  either  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Visita- 
tion or  by  those  of  the  Sacred  Heart.     If  the  plan,  of  which  I  have 
informed  Bishop   Rosati  is  feasible,  it  shall  certainly  give  an 
impetus  to  the  propagation  of  our  holy  religion."     In  the  day 
of  which  we  write,  the  Democratic  party,  ever  in  favor  of  the 
foreigner  making  his  home  in  the  United  States,  wielded  great 
power;   and  honest  old  Hickory,  the  hero  of  a  hundred  victories 
over  the  Seminole  Indians,  and  the    conqueror    of    the    crack 
army  and  Navy  of  Great  Britain  at  the  battle  of  New  Orleans, 
January  8th,  181 5,  now  sat  President  of  the  United  States — 
Democrat  of  the  Democrats.     By  a  happy  turn  of  fortune,  the 
Irish  of  those  days  were  ninety  per  cent  Democrats;    a  Whig 
was   seldom   amongst  them.     Our   Peoria  numbering  in    1839, 
three  hundred  souls,  about  twenty  of  them  Catholics,  had  a 
large  majority  of  the  popular  party,  and,  amusing  to  write,  the 
chief  of  the  property  owners,  a  Democrat,  believed  in  no  other 
way  to  happiness.     The  Democratic  platform  was  the  sum  of 
Wm.   Stillman's   belief,   and  he   valued   Patrick  Ward  on  this 
account,  like  himself,  a  Jacksonian  Democrat.     Gossip  on  the 
authority  of  a  student  of  Peoria  history,  who  wrote  critically  the 
Peoria  of  early  days,  Wm.  Peter  Kroemer,  whom  the  writer  knew 
intimately,  had  it,  that  when  Ward,  authorized  by  Father  Raho, 
to  buy  a  lot  in  Peoria  on  which  to  build  a  Catholic  Church,  asked 
Stillman  the  price  for  the  lot,  Stillman,  dumbfounded  at  the 
question,  answered,  "Ward,  are  you  a  Catholic?"     "Yes,  replied 
Ward,  "I  am."     "Well,  Ward,  if  all  the  Catholics  are  like  you, 
you  may  take  the  lot  for    $100.00,    half   price."     The  lot  was 
purchased,  and  in  a  short  time  the  first  church,  S.  Philomena's, 
a  frame  building  arose,  and  monthly,  until  1845,  Peoria  shared 
the  zeal  of  the  Missioners.     Patrick  Ward  and  family  and  the 
Stillmans  nourished  the  seed  first  cast,  and  by  their  influence 
lightened  the   burden   of  the   Lazarist   Fathers.     West   of  the 
present  town  Rome,  lay  La  Salle  prairie,  or  the  Mooney  settle- 
ment, not  a  great  distance  from  Chilicothe,  where  the  missionary 
for  a  length  of  days  served  the  Bread  of  Life  to  the  generous 
families  of  the  Mooneys,  Boylans,  Harmons,  Boyles,  and  Dolans, 
and  which  in  return  offered  to  the  Minister  of  Christ,  like  Tobias 


88  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

of  old  to  the  Archangel  Raphael,  the  generous  tithe  of  Catholic 
hospitality.  Although  the  missions  of  the  early  pioneers  as  a 
rule  tired  the  Fathers  severely,  and  shortened  their  precious 
lives,  yet  the  first  serial  of  our  La  Salle  Missions  was  of  easy 
access.  The  canal  and  river  were  at  their  disposal,  and  the  pop- 
ulation that  waited  and  needed  the  time  and  care  of  the  Fathers 
made  their  homes,  or  temporary  stay,  on  the  banks  of  these 
highways.  Pekin,  ten  miles  south  of  Peoria,  is  thus  noted  by 
Raho:  "There  is  a  goodly  number  of  Catholics  in  and  around 
Pekin,  the  chief  town  of  Tazewell  Co.  Last  October,  1839,  the 
people  of  Pekin,  without  distinction  of  creed,  came  together, 
and  unanimously  resolved  to  build  a  Catholic  Church,  and  con- 
ferred with  me  and  Bishop  Rosati,  who  spent  a  day  among  them, 
on  the  importance  of  the  project." 

The  church  was  put  up  and  named  St.  Stephen's.  -  Above 
the  town  of  Pekin,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Illinois  or  rather 
Peoria  Lake,  is  Black  Partridge  of  the  early  days — now  no 
longer  on  the  map — quite  a  center  for  German  and  French 
Catholics.  "So  numerous,  writes  the  son  of  St.  Vincent,  that 
a  chapel  is  needed,  which  I  intend  to  build  of  timber  the  coming 
Spring,  and  would  now  commence  had  I  the  money.  The  French 
and  Germans — among  the  latter  are  many  of  the  Anabaptist 
sect — shall  use  it  in  common."  The  building  was  erected  and 
named  St.  Raphael's. 

Kickapoo,  in  Peoria  Co.,  on  the  same  side  of  the  river,  about 
five  miles  inland,  claims  special  and  lengthy  notice  from  the 
ubiquitous  missionary.  "I  have  taken  special  care  of  the  Kick- 
apoo Catholics,  because  they  were  more  exposed  to  heretic  at- 
tacks than  the  others,  and  notably  from  the  attacks  of  the  so- 
called  Church  of  England  bishop,  who  tried  to  instil  into  them 
the  poison  of  his  error.  I  judged,  therefore,  that  the  presence 
of  the  priest  would  be  more  necessary  there  than  anywhere  else, 
accordingly  I  ministered  to  these  good  people  every  month, 
making  a  speciality  of  explaining  the  doctrine  of  the  Church. 
To  my  instruction,  led  by  curiosity,  a  great  number  of  Protestants 
came,  who  gradually  opened  their  eyes  to  the  truth,  and  laid 
aside  their  prejudices,  with  which  they  had  grown  up,  against 
Catholics.  Then,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all,  I  proposed  to  build 
a  chapel.  A  Catholic  and  a  Protestant  each  offered  a  lot — I 
accepted  the  offer  of  the  Catholic  as  more  beneficial,  and  affording 
me  the  means  to  encircle  the  chapel  with  a  cemetery.     Measures 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  89 

were  immediately  taken  and  the  corner-stone  of  the  chapel, 
or  if  you  wish,  the  church,  was  laid  the  first  Sunday  of  last  August 
1839,  after  celebrating  the  Holy  Mass  in  a  neighboring  house, 
fitted  up  for  the  occasion.  At  the  appointed  hour  for  the  corner- 
stone laying,  I  was  on  the  spot,  began  to  explain  the  ceremonies 
to  the  people  who  were  in  crowds;  when  our  non- Catholic 
fellow  citizens  came  up  and  said  to  me,  that  they  desired,  as 
the  Catholics  to  have  a  share  in  my  instructions,  and  the  chapel 
would  be  too  small  to  contain  the  Catholic  and  non-Catholic 
people.     I  was  obliged  to  broaden  the  foundations. 

Since  then  the  Anglican  bishop,  whose  conventical  and 
college  are  situated  about  one  mile,  and  a  half  from  our  church, 
ceases  not  to  inveigh  bitterly  against  me;  but  all  his  arrows,  far 
from  injuring,  serve  only  to  scatter  the  darkness  of  error,  to 
sharpen,  the  appetite  of  our  non-Catholic  citziens  for  the  true 
word  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  hasten  their  return  to  the  Catholic 
Faith.  To-day  the  walls  of  our  stone  church  are  all  but  built; 
the  dimensions  are  40  feet  long  by  30  in  width.  It  shall  be  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Patrick.  This  congregation  is  daily  growing.  In 
the  Spring,  many  French  families  will  arrive  and  become  mem- 
bers of  the  parish." 

It  is  interesting  to  read  the  importance  our  precise  missionary 
gave  to  the  Kickapoo  corner-stone  event.  The  document  would 
do  honor  to  the  most  critical  inscriber.  It  is  fortunate  to  own 
this  historic  relic,  and  a  pleasure  to  lay  it  before  the  eyes  of  our 
readers. 

Copies  of  Documents  Referring  to  the  Foundation  of  the 
Parish  of  Kickapoo,  Peoria  Co. 

Aug.  4,  1839. 

By  the  authority  of  the  Bishop,  the  illustrious  and  Right  Rev. 
Joseph  Rosati,  I  have  this  day  blessed  and  placed  the  (first) 
corner-stone  of  a  church  to  be  erected  by  the  faithful  in  Kickapoo, 
a  mission  connected  with  this  parish  and  situated  in  the  county 
of  Peoria,  about  sixty  miles  from  La  Salle.  Said  church  to  be 
erected  to  the  glory  of  God  and  of  St.  Patrick,  Bishop  of  the 
Irish  people. 

J.  B.  Raho,  C.  M. 
inscription     placed     beneath     the     corner-stone     of     st. 
Patrick's  church,  kickapoo, 

D.  O.  M.,  to  the  (honor)  glory  of  God,  under  the  patronage 
of  St.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  the  Irish:     "On  the  fourth  day  of 


90  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

August  in  the  year  of  our  salvation,  1839,  His  Holiness, 
Gregory  XVI.,  gloriously  reigning  in  the  Chair  of  Peter 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Rosati,  being  Bishop  of  the  Diocese 
of  St.  Louis,  Martin  Van  Buren,  President  of  these  United  States, 
and  Thomas  Carlin,  Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  this  temple 
to  be  constructed  of  stone,  by  the  pious  liberality  of  the  faithful 
has  been  begun.  Ground  was  donated  by  Wm.  Mulvaney  and 
Dorothea  Mulvaney.  I,  J.  B.  Raho,  of  the  congregation  of  the 
Mission,  vested  with  the  faculties  received  from  the  Bishop, 
have  blessed  and  placed  with  solemn  rite  the  first  comer-stone 
in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people,  said  corner-stone 
being  located  in  the  eastern  corner  of  the  church  near  the  en- 
trance." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  events  at  La  Salle  in  1839  and  1840. 

The  Missions  at  the  Mooney   settlement   near   Rome,  Black 
Partridge,    Pekin     andKickapoo,    placed     on    secure     footing, 
and   the    opening   of  the  New   Mission  in  Lacon,  Marshall  Co., 
where   in   John    Kelly's   house  the    Holy   Sacrifice  for  the  first 
time   was   offered   up,    and   ground   was    given    for    a    church 
built   in    1840   of   dressed  logs,  provided    for,    urgent  business 
brought   Raho  home.      Father    Parodi,  in  charge  at  La  Salle, 
during  the  Mission  tour  of  Raho,    had   just    welcomed    Father 
Cercos,  sent  by  visitor  Father  Timon  from    St.    Mary's   Sem- 
inary to    La  Salle,  to  share  mission  labor.     On  the   return  of 
Superior  Raho,  nothing  lightened  his  labors   more  than  to  find 
that  his  "Alter  Ego,"  the  simple  saintly  Parodi  had  everything 
in  and  out  of  house  and  church  in  admirable  condition.    The 
illustrious  Bishop  Rosati  was  to  be  in  La  Salle,  accompanied  by 
the  greatest  Lazarist  of  that  day,  the  prefect  apostolic  of  Texas, 
and  first  Visitor  of  the  Lazarists,  John  Timon.     Our  Chronicler 
writes  up  the  arrival  and  its  purpose:        "At  La  Salle,  our  ordi- 
nary residence,  we  welcomed  last  October  13th,   1839,  Bishop 
Rosati  and  our  Visitor,  Father    Timon.       During  the  ten  days 
the    Bishop   remained,   he   administered   confirmation   to   fifty- 
eight    persons,   chiefly  grown  people  four  of  them  converts  I 
baptized  last  Holy  Week.     On  the  Sunday  within  the  octave 
of  our  holy  founder.  Saint  Vincent,  the  patron  of  our  Confra- 
ternity of  Charity,  thirty-two  of  our  children  made  their  first 
communion,  and  the  association  of  charity  in  a  body  approached 
the  Holy  Table.     Directly  afterwards  confirmation  followed,  the 
good'  Bishop  and  Father  Timon  having  previously  preached  for 
them  a  mission  of  eight  days."     Only  two  at  this  hour,  of  the 
fifty-eight,  confirmed  on  that  occasion,  are  amongst  us,   Mrs. 
John  Allen,   or  Aunt  Anne,   as  she  is  lovingly  called,  and  the 
grand  old  lady,  Mrs.  William  O'Reilly.     May  blessings  continue 
to  shower  upon  them!     The  missions  were  strengthened  by  the 

(91) 


92  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

arrival  of  Father  Estany.  This  important  addition  allowed  the 
church  builder  and  organizer,  Raho,  more  freedom  to  search  the 
creeks  and  timber — few  as  yet  had  pitched  their  tent  on  the 
prairies — for  the  strayed  sheep  of  the  one  fold. 

"I  care  not  fortune,  what  you  may  deny,  you  cannot  bar  my 
constant  feet  to  trace  the  wood  and  lawns,  by  living  streams 
at  eve." 

However,  before  the  Superior  returned  to  his  Peoria  sur- 
roundings, it  was  imperatiye,  for  many  reasons,  that  a  chosen 
plot  of  fertile  ground  should  be  bought,  for  few  objects  speak 
so  feelingly  as  God's  acre.  The  love  for  the  dear  departed  was 
deep  in  the  hearts  of  the  early  priests.  The  following  inscrip- 
tion, date  and  dedication  done  from  the  Latin  into  English  are 
taken  from  the  old  Baptismal  records. 

D.  O.  M.  July  2d,  1840. 
In  the  name  of  the  Lord,  Amen.  Since  no  place  has  been  re- 
served for  burying  the  bodies  of  the  faithful  in  a  Christian  man- 
ner, a  tract  of  land  having  been  secured,  part  of  the  same  has 
been  reserved  for  this  purpose.  By  means  of  money  contributed 
by  the  pious  liberality  of  Catholics,  it  was  provided  that  this 
place  set  aside  for  the  burial  of  the  faithful  departed,  should 
be  closely  and  securely  fenced,  in  order  that  it  might  be  secured 
from  the  profanation  of  animals  and  that  the  danger  of  irrever- 
ence might  be  removed.  Many  bodies  of  those  who  piously 
and  laudably  departed  this  life  in  the  Communion  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Church  and  which  for  a  time  were  buried  elsewhere  were 
transferred  to  this  place  upon  the  fourth  Sunday  after  Pentecost, 
being  vested  with  authority  received  from  illustrious  and  R. 
Rev.  Jos.  Rosati,  Bishop  of  St.  Louis,  and  in  the  presence  of 
Revs.  Aloysius  Parodi  and  Joseph  De  Marchi,  I  the  undersigned, 
have  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people,  blessed  the 
cemetery  with  solemn  rite  prescribed  by  the  Roman  Ritual. 

J.  Blasius  Parodi,  Cong.  Miss. 
A.  Parodi. 
J.  De  Marchi. 

It  need  hardly  be  written,  the  above  cemetery  blessed,  and 
which,  serving  its  purpose  for  about  seventeen  years,  was,  after 
ripened  consideration  and  lengthy  proclamation,  abandoned, 
and  right  cheerfully  did  the  congregation  of  St.  Patrick's  exhume 
the  remains  of  their  dear  departed  and  bear  them  to  the  present 
blessed  spot. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Strain  on  Shepherds  and  Flocks,  184 1-1846. 

The  Greek  meaning  for  man  is  found  in  his  spiritual  part,  and 
the  Latin  meaning  in  the  mortal  part  of  man.  The  higher  is 
based  on  the  lower,  as  is  seen  in  any  construction.  "Not  on 
bread  alone  does  man  live,"  nevertheless,  man  needs  bread  and 
without  bread  he  cannot  subsist.  The  eagle  may  soar  aloft,  but 
the  eagle  must  seek  his  native  quarry.  The  condition  in  which 
the  state  was  thrown  in  the  year  1840,  owing  to  the  inexperience 
and  rashness  of  its  Assembly  and  Senate,  was  actual  bankruptcy. 
That  a  legislature,  in  the  days  of  the  brainiest  men,  had  drawn 
up  and  approved  a  scale  of  internal  improvements,  in  construc- 
tion of  canals,  building  railroads,  giving  away  charters  haphazard, 
with  merely  a  handful  of  population  in  the  state,  banks  closing, 
capitalists  refusing  to  succor  the  extravagant  attempts  of  the 
state,  is  simply  unanswerable,  and  must  be  classified  with  the 
lowest  type  of  tyro  in  the  art  of  government.  The  sinews  of 
industry,  in  men  and  money,  no  longer  stretched,  scrip  money 
and  state  certificates,  it  is  true,  at  par  on  their  face  with  the 
dollar  but  only  for  purchases  of  land,  if  famine  did  not  stalk 
hereabouts  and  gnaw  its  victims,  thanks  to  a  "Providence  that 
shapes  our  ends,  rough-hewn  as  they  may  be,"  it  was  because  the 
cannallers  and  railroad  men  that  stayed,  and  they  were  few, 
had  the  richest  of  soils  to  squat  upon  and  cultivate ;  and  when 
the  land  came  into  market  could  make  it  their  own  by  script 
or  state  certificate  purchase,  as  John  Cody,  William  O'Reilly, 
Barny  Murtaugh,  Hartley  Ferguson,  Patrick  Conway,  James 
Cahill,  and  others  hereabouts,  and  in  the  adjoining  county  and 
townships  did,  a  proof  of  that  common  sense,  or  rather,  an  evi- 
dence of  sound  judgment  which  commended  them  to  the  pro- 
gressive party  of  the  community,  and  which  was  the  basis  of 
the  prosperity  which  at  last  crowned  them.  If,  on  the  one  hand 
the  situation  from  1841  until  1845,  drove  away  ninety  per  cent 
of  the  cannallers,to  other  fields,  where  money  was  easy,  on  the 

(93^ 


94  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

Other  hand  the  ten  per  cent  of  men  that  remained  and  went  on 
the  rich  prairie  north  and  south  of  historic  La  Salle  amassed 
wealth,  although  the  markets  quoted  wheat  at  i2j/^c.  bushel, 
corn  at  loc. ;  potatoes  the  like  figure;  eggs  3c.  a  dozen;  clothing 
at  a  figure  correspondingly  low,  with  the  scrip  at  i2j^c.  on  the 
dollar. 

The  monetary  difficulty  tried  severely  the  Sons  of  St.  Vincent 
and  cut  short  many  needed  improvements,  in  more  than  a  dozen 
missions  opened  up  and  attended  since  the  arrival  of  the  Fathers. 
The  handful  of  people  around  La  Salle  and  Peru,  and  at  the  other 
points  of  the  extensive  mission  field,  had  no  money  and,  there- 
fore the  Fathers  had  none:  for  to  the  glory  of  the  Irish  race 
above  all  others,  the  "Soggarth  aroon"  will  get  his  large  share 
of  money,  or  the  value  of  the  money,  suitable  to  his  rank  and 
answerable  to  the  needs  and  fitness  of  his  high  ministry,  if  the 
devoted  people  have  it.  One  prying  into  the  old  Journal  and 
Ledger  so  conscientiously  kept  by  the  old  Confreres,  finds 
St.  Mary's  Seminary,  or  (sacredly  named)  the  Barrens,  the  Mother 
House  of  Paris,  and  that  ever  flowing  fund,  the  propagation  of  the 
faith  at  Lyons,  that  has  fed  and  propped  tip  a  million  missions; 
loaning  from  $300  to  $500,  and  which  loans,  in  all  instances,  it 
is  gratifying  to  find,  for  the  honor  of  the  priesthood  and  the 
congregation  of  the  mission,  have  been  to  the  last  cent,  returned. 
On  borrowed  capital,  therefore,  the  work  of  God  went  on.  The 
four  years  of  want  lessened  not  the  spirit,  nor  did  they  cripple  the 
elastic  step  of  any  of  the  four  missioners,  in  the  work  of  soul- 
saving.  In  the  meantime  St.  Augustine,  in  Knox  Co.,  and  the 
neighborhood  of  Wyoming,  were  visited  by  Father  Raho,  whilst 
Dixon  and  Palestine  Grove,  were  taken  into  the  great  missionary 
fold. 

And  now  the  Superior  of  La  Salle  Mission  gets  notice  from 
the  Visitor,  Father  Timon,  that  the  good  Bishop  Rosati,  the 
first  Bishop  of  St.  Louis,  had,  Nov.  30,  1841,  consecrated  in 
St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  Philadelphia,  Peter  Richard  Henrick,  his 
coadjutor,  and  requested  Father  Raho  to  be  ready,  some  time 
in  the  summer  of  1842,  for  Confirmation,  in  the  various  missions. 

"Obediens  dicto,"  has  ever  been  the  motto  on  which  the  Sons 
of  the  Founder  of  the  Misssion  acted.  "  Do  you  remember  Arch- 
bishop," said  the  writer,  on  a  visit  in  1889,  to  the  illustrious 
incumbent  of  the  arch  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  then  in  his  90th 
year — "the   confirmation   tour  you   made   with   our  priests   in 


STORY  OP  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  95 

La  Salle  and  out-missions  of  Peoria,  Kickapoo,  Black  Partridge, 
in  1842?"     "I  do  very  well,"  he  replied. 

Saturday,  July  23 ,  of  above  year  the  newly  consecrated  Bishop 
Kenrick;  Coadjutor  to  Bishop  Rosati  of  St.  Louis  reached  La  Salle 
by  boat  and  was  enthusiastically  welcomed  by  priests  and  people. 
The  next  day,  Sunday,  July  24th,  the  old  log  church,  endeared 
to  the  warm  hearted  poor  fiock  of  that  day,  was  dressed  at  its 
best,  and  the  ceremonial  was  carried  out  to  the  letter,  as  if  it 
were  the  first  Cathedral  in  the  land.  The  choir,  primitive  indeed 
yet  full  of  ambition,  and  with  flutes  and  violins,  and  the  richest 
of  all  instruments,  the  sweet  human  voice,  gave  a  good  account . 
of  itself,  and  met  the  pleasing  criticism  of  the  good  Bishop,  whose 
ear  was  attuned  in  his  native  Dublin,  the  most  musical  city  of 
Erin  and  Great  Britain.  The  number  confirmed  was  twenty- 
two,  among  them  Edward  Kelly,  the  excellent  father  of  John 
and  William,  who  in  the  fifties,  put  on  the  livery  of  St.  Vincent 
at  old  St.  Mary's  Seminary.  Black  Partridge,  in  Woodford  Co., 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Illinois,  about  fifty  miles  southwest  from 
La  Salle,  the  good  Bishop,  accompained  by  Father  Raho,  next 
visited,  arriving  July  27th,  and  on  the  day  following,  confirmed 
twenty-three,  all  Germans.  For  Kickapoo,  Peoria  Co.,  on  the 
same  side  of  the  river,  but  inland,  the  zealous  father  of  the  flock, 
conducted  by  the  no  less  zealous  missionary,  set  out,  and  reached 
the  settlement  July  30th.  On  July  31st,  sixteen  were  confirmed. 
In  Peoria,  the  west  side  of  the  river  and  twenty  miles  from  Kick- 
apoo, six  were  all  that  received  the  imposition  of  hands,  and  let 
their  names  be  registered,  for  four  of  the  six  were  of  the  Doran, 
one  of  the  Judge,  and  one  of  the  Kelby  family.  Doubtless  the 
dwarfish  figure  submitted  for  confirmation,  by  the  ambitious 
town  of  the  Illinois  River,  then  numbering  about  eight  hundred 
souls,  when  compared  with  the  number  unpretentious  La  Salle 
and  Kickapoo  and  Black  Patridge,  submitted  to  the  same 
Sacrament  of  strength  to  profess  courageously  the  faith,  at  this 
time  fiercely  attacked  by  ignorance  and  bigotry,  must  have 
struck  amazingly  the  good  Bishop.  Sailing  from  Peoria,  Aug. 
3rd.  for  his  Mound  City,  after  bidding  good-by  to  the  Superior 
of  La  Salle  Missions,  he  expressed  his  joy,  on  the  whole,  for  the 
growth  of  the  Church  witnessed  during  the  fortnight  he  had 
passed  among  the  La  Salle  Stations. 

The  fifth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  convened  on  May 
14th,  1843.  proposed  to  the  Holy  See  the  establishment  of  three 


96  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

new  dioceses,  namely:  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  Albany,  New  York, 
and  Chicago,  111.  The  pious  and  zealous  pastor  of  St.  Mary's, 
New  York  City,  was  consecrated  first  Bishop  of  Chicago  by  the 
great  Bishop  John  Hughes,  in  the  old  Cathedral,  Mott  Street, 
New  York  City,  on  the  third  Sunday  of  Lent,  March  lo,  1844. 
On  May  5th,  the  same  year,  Chicago,  with  its  four  hundred 
Catholic  souls,  in  a  population  of  12,000,  received  its  first  Bishop, 
Now,  good  Bishop  Flaget,  of  Bardstown,  Kentucky,  cheerfully 
gave  up  the  government  of  Chicago  and  the  southwest  of  the 
state,  over  which  he  had  jurisdiction,  to  Chicago's  own  Bishop, 
and  if  the  illustrious  Bishops  Rosati  and  Peter  Richard  Kenrick, 
of  St.  Louis,  had  put  in  their  sickle  into  this  extensive  territory 
and  had  implored  the  Visitor  of  Larazists,  John  Timon,  to  send 
a  strong  band  of  his  missioners,  as  we  have  seen,  to  sow  to  a  rich 
harvest,  all  this  had  been  done  to  lighten  the  burden  of  the 
saintly  Flaget.  The  Lazarists  had  still  their  focus  of  work  at 
La  Salle,  but  their  Bishop,  henceforth,  for  thirty-four  years, 
would  be  the  Bishop  of  Chicago. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Chicago's  First  Bishop  and  the  La  Salle  Mission — Portion  of  His 
Diocese. — Formation  of  New  Parishes  otit  of  the  La  Salle 
Settlements  and  organization  of  new  Stations. 

Accompanied  by  his  brother,  Vicar  General  Walter  Quarters, 
the  good  bishop  made,  in  June,  1844,  a  visitation  to  the  Fathers 
and  parish  of  La  Salle,  and  administered  the  Sacrament  of  Con- 
firmation to  a  class,  two  of  whom  at  this  writing  are  in  the  best 
of  health  and  spirits,  the  Keys  brothers,  Thomas  eighty  and 
Edward  seventy-six,  ever  as  their  excellent  parents  before  them, 
staunch  friends  of  the  old  faith  and  of  the  missioners.  Ottawa 
Mission,  which  had  been  built  up  and  attended  most  faithfully 
by  Raho  and  Parodi  in  all  seasons  and  times,  treated  almost  as 
La  Salle  where  the  Missioners  lived,  the  Confreres,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Father  Timon,  resigned  them  into  the  hands  of  the 
new  bishop,  who,  accepting  the  resignation  in  a  short  time 
appointed  to  Holy  Trinity  parish,  one  of  his  priests.  Father 
Thomas  O'Donnell  as  rector.  Thus  after  six  years  and  a  half  the 
Larazists,  owing  to  the  growing  needs  of  other  portions  of  the 
mission  field,  bade  farewell  to  the  congregation  at  the  La  Salle 
County  Seat,  which  parish  from  his  boyhood  up  to  the  present 
time,  the  writer,  ever  regarded  simply  unique  in  all  that 
depth  of  faith  and  cleverness  of  purse,  and  unswerving  devotion 
to  the  minister  of  God,  bear. 

To  none  after  God,  do  the  people  of  Ottawa  owe  more  than  to 
Very  Rev.  Dean  Patrick  Terry,  who  lived  among  them  for  nigh 
a  generation,  and  left  the  impress  of  his  elevated  character  on 
the  Catholics  of  "Sweet  Auburn"  of  the  Illinois  Valley.  Guide, 
philosopher  and  father,  let  Ottawa  never  forget  him;  but  like 
another  Joseph  bearing  the  precious  remains  of  his  aged  father, 
Jacob,  to  their  fit  resting  place,  let  the  remnant  that  remain  of 
the  strong  Catholics — ever  the  glory  of  Ottawa  and  enshrined 
in  the  heart  of  the  whilom  pastor  of  St.  Columbas'  lay  the  bones 

(97) 


98  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

of  the  venerable  shepherd  on  a  picturesque  knoll,  in  Ottawa's 
consecrated  ground,  and  lift  over  them  monolith  or  shaft  with 
suitable  inscription. 

In  the  year  1845,  the  Visitor  of  the  Lazarists  once  more  pe- 
titioned the  Bishop  of  Chicago.  This  time  to  relieve  our  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Peoria  settlements.  Black  Partridge,  Kickapoo, 
Mooney  settlement  and  Peoria.  The  petition  was  granted,  and 
the  above  missions  were  for  the  future,  at  the  disposal  of  Bishop 
Quarters.  This  same  year  work  on  the  canal  was  resumed,  after 
four  years'  delay,  and  once  more  La  Salle  became  a  busy  hive. 
It  was  most  timely. 

At  the  opening  of  the  year  1846  the  missioners,  Fathers 
Parodi,  Superior,  and  Montuori  looked  after,  with  zealous  care, 
the  following  settlements;  Lacon  and  Crow  Meadows,  Marshall 
Co.,  Hennepin,  in  Putnam  Co.,  Dixon  and  Sandy  Hill  in  Lee  Co., 
Troy  Grove,  Utica  and  La  Salle  town,  the  headquarters  of  the 
mission.  The  visitations,  as  a  rule,  unless  the  boat  was  sand- 
barred  or  the  sloughs  on  the  prairies,  for  roads  then  were  out 
of  the  question,  fastened  horse,  buggy  and  Father,  or  the  fatigued 
hunter  after  souls  got  benighted  on  the  lonely  prairie  and  a 
kind  Providence  rescued  the  man  of  God  from  his  embarrassments 
were  punctually  made.  The  occasion  was  always  a  season  for 
spiritual  and  bodily  nourishment  to  the  yearning  simple  people 
of  the  settlement  and  a  source  of  deep  interest  and  joy  to  the 
missioners.  Indeed  the  gathering  of  Father  and  flock  partook 
of  the  nature  of  a  barbecue  or  picnic,  after  satisfying  the  inner 
man,  the  flow  of  soul  succeeded,  in  which  darts  of  genuine  Irish 
wit,  for  the  scions  of  any  other  race  had  hardly  as  yet  been 
ingrafted  on  the  newly  organized  stations;  flew  and  hit  and 
rebounded  amid  peals  of  real  laughter  evidence  of  the  Catholic 
family  spirit  which  permeated  all.  And  who,  with  the  slightest 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  should  deny  an  hour  of  innocent 
mirth,  which  has  so  much  to  do  with  uplifting  for  a  time  the  bur- 
dens of  sorrow  and  care  of  even  the  soul  of  the  priest. 

The  immortal  Pope  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  called  himself 
"Servant  of  the  servants  of  God."  Literally  slaye  of  the  slaves 
of  the  Lord,  for  the  priest  ordained  is  enslaved  to  duty.  If  he 
need  an  elastic  hour  in  his  tour  on  the  prairies  after  his  ordinary 
ministrations  his  weightier  duties  of  soliciting  funds — a  nice 
phrase,  which  done  unto  Anglo-Saxon  means  begging  money  or 
its  value — on  public  highways,  rivers,  and  canals  from  all  kinds  of 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  99 

men,  for  the  object  of  upbuilding  religion,  in  churches,  schools, 
rectories,  need  much  more  "  few  sunny  spots "  that  may  smile 
upon  him  amid  the  wilderness  of  such  labor.  Let  the  whole- 
souled  tireless  missioner,  if  he  can  command  such  spots  have 
and  enjoy  them. 

The  excursions  of  the  Fathers  along  the  canal  from  La  Salle  to 
Ottawa  from  1845  on  until  its  finish  in  1848,  had  a  mixture  of 
pleasure  and  disgust,  sweetness  and  bitterness;  above  all  the 
latter,  to  a  highly  modest,  sensitive  and  independent  priest,  ever 
himself  more  ready  to  give  a  dollar  than  receive  one,  and  who  if 
he  met  a  refusal  was  galled  to  the  quick.  It  must  be  confessed 
that  poverty  for  fully  a  decade  following  the  opening  of  the  La 
Salle  mission,  marked  the  career  of  our  fathers.  The  journal 
kept  by  the  priests  shows  this.  But  the  highest  authority 
assures  that  "virtue  is  made  perfect  in  weakness." 

Missioners  and  people  of  La  Salle  for  eight  long  years  had  wor- 
shipped in  a  log  cabin.  This  was  the  church  of  the  most  Holy 
Cross,  where  Jesus  Christ  the  eternal  Son  of  God  dwelt.  His 
priests  had  lived  in  a  shanty  attached  to  the  rear  of  the  famous 
Basilica.  The  honor  due  to  the  True  Religion,  had  not  the 
rising  town  a  say  on  the  subject,  called  for  a  solid  decent  house 
of  worship;  Missioners  and  people  on  this  matter  were  a  unit. 
The  zealous  Raho  and  Saintly  Parodi,  and  Fathers  Dahmen  and 
De  Marchi  and  Collins,  authority  of  Visitor  had  summoned  to 
the  missions  opened  up  by  our  order  in  the  southern  states. 
At  La  Salle  Father  Alphonus  Montouri,  since  Father  Parodi  at 
the  opening  of  May,  1846,  had  left,  was  acting  Superior.  On 
the  Saintly  Parodi  taking  leave.  Rev.  Mark  Anthony  ,ordained 
the  year  previous,  and  who  had  been  prefect  of  the  College  at 
Cape  Gerardeau  for  a  term,  arrived  in  La  Salle.  The  name  of 
the  new  son  of  St.  Vincent  first  appears  on  the  Journal  May  13th, 
1846.  The  choice  of  Rev.  Mark  Anthony  for  the  peoples  of 
La  Salle  Missions,  all  hailing  with  few  exceptions  from  the 
"Gem  of  the  Ocean,"  was  the  utterance  of  the  judgment  of  our 
chief  Lazarists — the  humble,  yet  great,  John  Timon.  Simple 
yet  shrewd,  unobtrusive  yet  forward  when  duty  called,  easy  of 
manner  and  of  temper,  jovial  yet  pious,  successful  as  a  beggar, 
and  a  pronounced  prodigy  as  a  builder,  economic  and  wise;  no 
pulpit  orator,  yet  his  short  instruction  had  ever  a  point  and 
hit  the  mark,  in  La  Salle  as  assistant  for  five  years  and  as  pastor 


too  STORY  OP  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

for  a  quarter  of  a  century ;  such  was  the  combination  of  qualities 
La  Salle  welcomed.  The  project  for  a  church  no  less  than  a 
stone  church,  assumed  shape. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  Prospective  Rock  Church. — The  Dual  Events  of  1846. — The 
Arrival  of  La  Salle's  Second  Superior. — Growth  of  the  New  Build- 
ing. 

The  difficulties  that  lay  in  the  way  to  the  upbuilding  of  a  new- 
Mission  rock  church,  at  La,  Salle  at  the  time  of  which  we  write, 
were  many:  depreciation  of  the  currency,  the  fewness  and 
poverty  of  the  Catholics,  the  Missionary's  empty  treasury,  the 
bluffy,  uneven  nature  of  the  present  site,  covered  with  second 
growth  of  scrubby  oak,  poplar,  and  thick  with  hazel,  flanked  on 
sides  by  a  ravine,  which,  starting  at  the  northeast  of  the  present 
park,  carried  a  creek,  diagonally  crossing  Fifth  and  Fourth 
Streets  near  Hennepin  and  Joliet,  until  it  took  a  southwestern 
course  and,  flowing  over  a  little  ridge,  formed  a  duck  pond  of 
what  to-day  is  our  Sisters  of  Charity's  garden. 

The  sum  of  Baptism  and  Marriage  records  total  eighty — the 
former  sixty- five,  the  latter  fifteen — in  this  year  of  1846  for  the 
whole  mission  field  of  La  Salle.  All  this  the  Fathers  had  to  face 
and  meet.  They  had,  like  an  engineer,  weighed  the  bridge  to  carry 
the  immense  pile.  What  are  physical,  when  compared  with 
moral  forces?  Given  a  leader  resourceful  and  fearless,  like 
Atlas,  he'll  carry  the  herculean  task. 

"There's  not  a  nobler  man  in  Rome  than  Anthony."  In 
the  bold  hand  writing  of  Father  Anthony,  we  find  these  words, 
on  opening  page  of  day  book:  "We  commenced  the  building  of 
this  church,  St.  Patrick's,  La  Salle,  111.,  May  24th,  1846."  An 
auspicious,  an  admirable  date;  for  it  was  the  feast  of  the  great 
Mother  of  God,  "  Help  of  Christians  " — and  what  more  refreshing, 
when  needs  were  sorest,  than  help  the  greatest?  Moreover  the 
weather  was  at  its  best.  The  date  had  been  haralded  all  along 
the  canal  line.  The  canal  implements,  and  ox  and  horse  teams, 
and  the  stalwart  gangs,  headed  by  their  respective  bosses,  were 
on  the  ground  by  2  P.  M.  Never  did  soldier  shoulder  his  musket 
for  the  fray,  and  make  for  the  front  more  briskly,  than  did  our 

(lOl) 


I02  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

canallers,  on  this  momentous  occasion  of  breaking  ground  for  the 
massive  stone  church  of  St.  Patrick.  In  the  following  style  they 
are  written,  by  the  most  popular  of  our  La  Salle  Missioners.  "The 
Richard  Cody  men,  the  Cornelius  Cahill  men,  the  James  Cahill 
men,  the  Whealy  men,  the  McDonnell  men,  the  Denis  Cahill 
men,  the  men  of  Utica,  the  men  of  Lost  Grove,  John  Keys  and 
his  sons,  the  Isaac  Hardy  men."  Among  those  families  of  large 
heartedness,  are  those  of  Thomas  Cavanaugh,  father  of  the  Rev. 
Mich'l  Cavanaugh,  of  our  order,  and  Edward  Kelly,  father  of  Rev. 
John  and  William  Kelly,  of  the  same  order,  and  Richard  Cody, 
William  O'Reilly,  John  Allen,  John  Connerton,  Bartley^ Ferguson, 
Barney  Murtaugh,  James  Cahill,  honest  John  Keyes,  and  the 
Corrigan  family,  who,  when  the  interest  of  the  priests  were 
mooted,  gave  to  these  interests  their  fullest  approvel  in  will, 
work  and  cash.  Amidst  the  cheers  from  out  of  a  hundred 
throats,  at  the  word  of  command,  ploughs  and  teams  were  rip- 
ping up  the  sod,  and  carts  carrying  away  soil,  stumps  and  hazel, 
from  a  space  125  by  53  feet. 

The  beginning  of  the  end  was  made,  and  Rev.  M.  Anthony, 
above  all  other  Fathers,  did  not  allow  the  big  occasion  to  come 
and  go  without  passing  the  goblet  around:  for,  on  the  highest 
authority  of  that  day  in  the  medical  school,  the  most  powerful 
disinfectant  to  malaria  and  swamp  chills  and  fever,  was  the  juice 
of  the  corn  or  "some  well  spiced  beverage.  In  the  meanwhile,  it 
was  plain,  many  revolutions  of  the  planets  would  be  made,  be- 
fore the  "consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished  for,"  would  come. 
Progress  in  the  work  depended  upon  the  success  in  begging 
efforts,  along  the  canal  and  largely  in  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis, 
"where  commerce  was  brisk  and  money  was  easy. 

The  receipts  for  five  months'  work  on  the  foundation,  collected 
from  the  canallers  and  villagers,  sum  up  $221.50;  and  from 
St.  Louis,  in  the  same  time,  $169.37.  Preparations  had  been 
made  to  lay  the  corner  stone:  the  day  fixed  was  Friday,  October 
14,  1846,  for  reasons  which  met  the  approval  of  Bishop  Quarters, 
who  promised  to  be  on  hand  for  the  important  event.  He  was 
as  good  as  his  word,  few  understood  human  nature  better  than 
the  Ordinary  of  the  diocese  that  disappointment  for  an  occasion 
like  the  one  in  question,  would  exceed  in  disgust,  the  pleasure  to 
be  enjoyed  by  the  promise  fulfilled. 

The  bishop  was  assisted  by  Fathers  Anthony,  Montuori  and 
George  Hamilton,  cousin  of  Bishop  Spalding,  then  in  Alton,  111, 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  103 

Joy  shone  on  every  face,  but  on  no  countenance  did  there 
beam  greater  satisfaction,  than  on  the  countenance  of  Mr.  John 
Winters,  the  great  mason,  whose  CathoHc  heart  was  in  keeping 
with  his  full  proportional  height  of  six  feet  four  inches. 

The  condition  of  the  people,  the  rush  of  canal  work,  the  hurry 
of  the  Bishop  to  return  to  Chicago,  shut  out  a  display  befitting 
the  occasion,  which  is  more  a  subject  of  regret  than  of  marvel. 

The  dinner  served  up  to  the  taste  of  the  pious  and  humble 
Bishop  and  other  dignitaries  had,  among  other  dishes,  thanks 
to  the  forethought  of  good  Father  Anthony  "The  Bishop's 
Turkey."  The  fact  of  its  record  will  doubtless  allow  the  reader 
to  form  an  idea  of  its  size  and  weight. 

Almost  exclusively  Father  Montuori  gave  his  time  to  attend- 
ance on  the  out  missions,  whilst  Father  Anthony  bent  all  his 
energies  towards  gathering  in  funds  from  home  and  abroad. 
From  June,  1846,  to  Jan.ist,  1849,  receipts  from  La  Salle  people 
footed  $1,826.29.  Receipts  from  abroad  $1,031.29,  the  total 
from  both  sources  $2,857.58.  New  Orleans  alone  from  this  amout 
gave  $683.00,  Chicago,  $130.00. 

What  was,  one  may  reasonably  ask,  the  bulk  of  the  collections 
when  compared  with  the  huge  work  in  hand?  The  cheapness 
of  labor  and  living,  enabled  the  economic  and  industrious  Father 
Anthony  to  dig  out  the  foundations  and  carry  up  the  massive 
rock  wall,  as  far  as  water  level,  at  such  a  figure,  that  the  builder 
of  to-day  would  consider  the  work  simply  as  a  gift. 

The  arrival  of  Rev.  John  O'Reilly  C.  M.  at  La  Salle,  October, 
1848,  missioned  here  by  our  Visitor  Father  Mariano  Mailer, 
successor  to  our  distinguished  Father  Timon,  at  this  time  Bishop 
of  Buffalo,  in  every  way  greatly  strengthened  the  La  Salle  doings, 
encouraging  people  and  priest  and  above  all  Father  Mark 
Anthony. 

The  importance  of  the  La  Salle  village  had  often  been  dis- 
cussed by  practical  men  of  weight — church  and  laymen.  Indeed 
the  second  Bishop  of  Chicago,  who  in  a  little  while  will  call  our 
attention,  wrote  after  his  first  visit  here  in  1849,  to  Father  John 
O'Reilly,  "If  all  the  railroads  center  in  La  Salle  it  will  become  a 
mighty  place,  the  rival  of  Chicago,  no  doubt  about  it."  Letter 
of  Bishop  Ven  de  Velde  to  Rev.  John  O'Reilly. 

Built  on  a  lime  stone  bed  of  gradual  elevation,  opening  in  the 
rear  into  rolling  extensive  prairies,  fronting  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal,  and  the  historic  Illinois  River  a  mile's  distance, 


104  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

with  a  stretch  east  and  west  of  acreage  destined  for  vast  manu- 
factories; surroundings  above  and  below  the  surface,  stored 
by  nature  with  depths  of  resources,  at  which  the  geologist  and 
chemist  time  and  again  prospecting  and  analyzing  were  electri- 
fied, strata  of  sand,  clay,  cement,  coal,  water,  soil,  with  a  re- 
storative power  independent  of  aid,  and  a  climate  the  delight 
of  the  worker  and  friend  of  longevity.  What  site  could  chal- 
lenge La  Salle? 

The  judgment  uttered  nigh  60  years  ago  to  theLondon 
Tablet  on  La  Salle  and  its  resources,  by  Father  John  O'Rielly 
resident  here,  was,  that  La  Salle  sooner  or  later  should  come  to 
the  front  among  the  western  cities.  No  opinion,  fifty  year  sago, 
among  the  thinkers  was  more  freely  expressed  and  defended, 
than  that  La  Salle  in  fifty  years  from  that  time,  the  Pittsburg 
of  the  West,  would  be  enjoying  a  population  of  75,000  inhabi- 
tants. The  writer  does,  and  will  not  enter  into  the  why  La  Salle 
has  not  risen  to  the  height  among  the  cities,  so  ardently  wished 
for  by  her  children  of  many  generations;  simply  because  the 
inquiry  would  be  irrelevant  to  his  purpose. 

Certain  it  is  our  talented  and  energetic  Father  John  O'Reilly 
did  much  numerically  and  religiously  for  La  Salle.  He  loved 
all,  but  naturally  his  powerful  word  and  his  trenchant  pen,  in 
favor  of  emigration,  would  be  for  his  own  first.  La  Salle  has 
been  blessed  by  his  coming.  Citizen  of  the  United  States,  of 
which  like  Archbishop  Hughes,  Bishop  Quarters  and  others  of 
his  class,  he  was  so  proud,  of  the  school,  of  the  great 
statesmen,  Henry  Clay  and  Daniel  Webster;  a  pleader  for 
right,  champion  of  the  oppressed,  a  disciplinarian,  a  sworn  enemy 
to  rowdyism,  which  he  fought  with  forcible  and  scathing  in- 
vectives, irrespective  of  creed,  and  did  his  best  to  cleanse  the 
town  of  such  questionable  element,  such  is  a  lineament  of  Rev. 
John  O'Reilly.  More,  his  duty  had  ever  been  his  highest  aim, 
and  wheresoever  his  mission  had  been,  whether  in  the  wilds  of 
the  Alleghanies,  or  in  the  smoky  city  of  Pittsburg,  his  priestly 
bearing  combined  with  a  high  order  of  talent  and  oratory  won 
him  great  fame.  As  the  history  of  the  old  Barrens  contains  a 
full  sketch  of  the  life  of  our  remarkable  confrere,  we  refer  tohim 
now  because  of  his  close  connection  with  La  Salle  and  its  works. 

To  the  new  Fathers  in  charge,  able  and  experienced  in  knowl- 
edge of  human  character  and  church  building,  neither  our  La 
Salle  men  nor  the  works  in  progress  had  any  thing  to  fear.     On 


THOMAS    HASKINS. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  105 

the  contrary  their  spirits  arose.  All  felt  that  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  determined  and  grave  Superior,  with  managers 
as  Mullaney,  the  architect,  V/inters  and  Farrells,  quarry  bosses 
and  Masons;  Patrick  Power,  Thomas  Haskins,  and  James 
O'Donnell,  as  carpenters;  Robert  and  William  Harkins  as 
plasterers;  and  lastly,  with  Father  Mark  Anthon  y,the  prince 
of  beggars  and  chief  fund  provider,  the  law  of  gravity  would 
sooner  suspend,  than  the  construction  in  hand  should  come 
to  naught.  Briskly  the  walls  went  up — huge  oak  beams  and 
joists  thoroughly  seasoned — were  in  place. 

The  receipts  from  the  La  Salle  Missions  from  January  first, 
1849,  up  to  January  first,  1851,  footed  $2,050.14;  and,  adding 
to  the  handsome  remittance,  $800.00,  to  the  above  sum,  sent  by 
our  accomplished  solicitor  from  New  Orleans,  June  ,1849,  the 
sum  of  the  receipts  for  two  years  reached  $2,850.14.  The  ex- 
penses for  the  same  period  ran  up  to  $1,099.31. 

The  temporary  absence  of  Father  Anthony  from  La  Salle, 
whilst  keenly  felt  by  the  warm-hearted  people,  and  by  the  people 
of  the  out  missions  of  Dixon,  Sandy  Hill,  and  Palestine  Grove, 
yet  was  his  absence,  as  our  able  lawyers  of  the  La  Salle  Bar  often 
in  their  pleading  quote,  the  "Conditio  sine  qua  non,"  to  the 
progress  of  the  rock  church.  Such  sums,  the  accomplished 
and  self-sacrificing  Father  had,  oft  and  again,  sent  from  Texas 
and  Louisiana,  were  in  the  mind  of  his  superiors,  vigorous  reasons 
to  allow  naught  to  clash  with  the  church  progress  at  La  Salle. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Influx  of  Vigorous  Catholics  the  Year  1848,  Which  Saw  the 
Great  Water-way  Finished  at  La  Salle. — The  Cholera  Ravages 
of  1849  <^^^  Visit  of  the  Second  Bishop  of  Chicago. 

The  real  growth  of  the  CathoHc  Church  Hes  in  the  quality 
and  fruits  of  her  plants.  When  the  royal  prophet  David  prayed 
his  Lord,  ''that  his  wife  should  be  a  fruitful  vine  in  the  sides  of 
his  house,"  he  was  far  from  wishing  that  the  vine  should  yield 
the  Labrusca  or  Wild  Grape,  since  the  prophet  knew  God  had 
no  use  for  the  Wild  Grape.  "I  have  expected  the  genuine  grape 
and  you  have  offered  me  the  labrusca."  The  brawn  of  a  parish 
or  people  is  its  religious  spirit ;  the  sapful  branches  of  that  vine 
of  which  it  is  written:  "I  am  the  vine,  you  are  the  branches." 
To  the  names  already  mentioned  and  others  not  mentioned,  who 
were  the  strength  of  the  rising  Church,  were  added  others,  some 
not  unworthy  to  rank  with  them  in  civil  and  religious  import. 

The  village  of  La  Salle,  for  the  canal  was  finished,  was  such, 
that  all  the  freight  from  the  South  was  shipped  through  La  Salle — 
hogsheads  of  molasses,  sugar,  coffee,  etc. ;  the  levee  where  the 
Rock  Island  tracks  are,  so  crowded  from  the  west  to  the  east  end 
of  the  basin,  that  with  difficulty  one  could  pass.  The  trip  to 
Chicago  by  the  canal  boat,  towed  by  three  horses  or  mules  took 
20  hours,  fare  $4.00  trip  to  St.  Louis  on  such  floating  palaces, 
the  writer  remembers  so  pleasantly,  took  up  the  better  part  of 
three  days;  fare,  $5.00  for  cabin,  meals  and  the  luxury  of  the 
table  was  "a  la  sud."  The  freight  handler  had  his  twenty  cents 
and  if  called  to  float  a  steamer  from  the  grip  of  a  sand  bar,  50c. 
an  hour.  Amidst  such  activity  the  highly  polished  and  cul- 
tured James  Lonergan,  who  had  seen  the  world,  moving  as  he 
did  amongst  the  best  bred  men  of  sweet,  old  Tipperary  and  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  yet  kept  that  simple  and  childlike 
faith,  always  so  admirable,  entered  La  Salle  and  went  into  the 
grocery  business  with  an  overflowing  confidence  in  his  fellow-man 
and  in  none  more  than  in  him  of  his  own  race  and  creed.     Fitted 

(106) 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  107 

rather  for  the  hallowed  spot  of  Melleray  nigh  sweet  Clonnel,  than 
for  the  busy  scenes  of  a  merchant's  calling;  our  friend,  whom 
we  venerated,  would  have  been  among  the  monks  of  St.  Bernard 
in  his  own  place.  The  little  he  had  at  his  happy  passage  he 
willed  to  the  Church  he  loved  so  much.  There  came  Nicholas 
Duncan,  with  his  friend,  crossing  from  Indiana  into  La  Salle, 
bringing  that  industry  as  a  tradesman  and  devoting  his  leisure 
hours  to  qualify  him,  at  it  did,  for  offices  of  Justice  of  peace  and 
mayor  of  La  Salle ;  and,  what  is  more  to  our  purpose,  to  act  for  a 
length  of  years  as  gratuitous  counselor  and  friend  to  the  priests 
of  the  Mission.  Then  there  was  James  Skelly,  industrious  and 
exemplary,  whose  word  was  his  bond,  and  Brennan  brothers, 
John  and  Roger,  the  prosperous  farmers  across  the  creek,  ever 
ready  to  second  the  call  of  his  reverence  and  open-handed  to  the 
interests  of  the  parish.  John  Stuart,  busy  and  honest,  whose 
prudent  behaviour  furthered  the  interests  of  the  town  and 
church ;  and  giving  strength  still  more  to  the  advance  of  religion 
and  civic  proprieties  must  be  noticed  John  Higgins  and  nature's 
nobleman,  John  Gerrity,  both  ready  approvers  of  church  under- 
takings, and  both  remarkable  for  cleverness  towards  the  church. 
Nor  can  the  name  of  Captain  Jno.  Feeney  be  forgotten  as  his 
boat,  on  her  return  trip  from  Chicago  hit  the  wharf;  nor  James 
Feeney,  who  with  their  crews  gathered  around  the  stores  of 
John  Higgins  and  John  Gerrit)^,  whither  the  missioners,  on  their 
begging  tour  went  without  foreboding,  and  never  left  without  a 
generous  shake  of  the  hand.  Out  of  place  would  it  be  to  pass 
over  the  many  generous  men  of  that  day  as  Patrick  Dooley, 
Michael  Mullooly,  the  Sheehans,  the  Foleys,  whose  interest  in 
the  parish  could  not  be  questioned. 

The  year  of  1848,  prosperous  for  La  Salle,  in  common  with 
many  other  districts  within  and  without  the  garden  state, 
yet  it  must  pass  through  a  bitter  ordeal. 

Few  pages  of  Holy  writ,  aside  from  the  narration  of  the  awful 
Passion  of  the  Great  Redeemer  of  mankind,  play  upon  the  chords 
of  the  human  heart  so  intensely,  producing  feelings  of  the  tender- 
est  sympathy,  than  those  taken  up  with  the  calamities  of  Holy 
Job.  The  first  blow  is  dealt  and  this  is  followed  by  the  second 
blow,  which  is  repeated  often  times,  and  always  inflicted  by  the 
hand  of  Him  whose  property  is  to  show  mercy  and  to  spare  and 
always  is  accepted  graciously  by  the  admirable  patient,  as  he 
bravely  exclaims,  "If  He  send  us  evil  things  does  He  not  grant 


io8  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

us  good  things?"  "For  God  loves  thoses  whom  He  chastises." 
The  first  scourge  that  afflicted  the  Mission  and  the  whole 
Chicago  Diocese  was  the  sudden  demise  of  its  first  Bishop.  With 
the  brightest  prospects,  pious  Bishop  William  Quarters  had 
begun  to  cultivate  the  Garden  State,  May  5,  1844.  The  same 
unflagging,  zealous  spirit  pushed  him  on  as  when  he  wrought  in 
St.  Mary's  parish,  New  York  City,  which  he  abandoned  at  the 
call  of  obedience  "To  go  higher."  For  ''it  behooveth  Bishops 
to  rule  the  Church  of  God."  His  build,  naturally  frail,  under 
the  pressure  of  the  incessant  work  of  diocesan  visitation,  from 
Chicago  to  Galena,  from  Galena  to  La  Salle,  from  La  Salle  to 
Peoria;  at  a  time  when  the  vehicle  was  an  ox-team,  or  horse 
wagon,  or  horse-back,  sitting  on  the  quaint  saddle-bags,  journey- 
ing on  the  marsh  or  prairie,  or  through  the  forest — for  Illinois 
along  her  creeks  and  rivers  had  in  the  forties  her  heavy  wooded 
sections,  add  to  all  this,  his  mental  work,  preparing  for  and 
holding  his  synod,  publishing  his  excellent  pastorals  to  mission 
rectors  and  their  flocks,  and,  above  all,  that  ever  abiding  thought, 
"The  solicitude  of  all  the  Church,"  of  which  an  account  is  to 
be  handed  to  the  Shepherd  of  Souls;  no  wonder,  shouldered 
"With  a  load  that  would  sink  a  navy,"  he  sank  under  the  weight, 
and,  after  four  years,  strngthened  by  all  that  is  refreshing  and 
hopeful,  passed  to  his  Lord,  Whom  he  had  served  so  faithfully. 
"Consummatus  brevi.  Explevit  tempora  multa,  placita  enim 
Domino  anima  illius.     Propterea  eduxit  eum! 

The  Sons  of  St.  Vincent  and  the  people  had  shared  his  bles- 
sings, once  in  1844,  when  he  confirmed  a  class,  and  again  in 
OctolDer,  1846,  when  he  laid  the  comer  stone  of  the  present 
church  of  St.  Patrick.  They  remembered  and  do  remember 
saintly  Bishop,  William  Quarters. 

Grievance  or  trial  never  comes  alone;  as  a  rule,  one  is  fol- 
lowed by  another.  Sore,  afflicted.  La  Salle!  The  good  bishop's 
death  was  hardly  announced  when,  for  the  second  time,  "The 
angel  of  death  spread  his  wings  on  the  blast!  The  cholera,  in 
1849,  I'avaged  La  Salle,  and  swept,  in  the  fur}''  of  a  cyclone,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  in  the  space  of  five  months.  Imag- 
ination can  hardly  form,  as  wild  at  it  may  be,  a  faithful  picture 
of  the  homes,  and  the  broken  heartedness  of  the  few  that  out- 
lived the  awful  calamity.  Boxes  for  coffins,  drays  and  carts 
for  hearses,  the  Fathers,  John  O'Reilly  and  Montouri,  for  months 
without  undressing,  to  catch  the  faint  accents  of  the  cholera 


STORY  OP  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  109 

victims  before  they  would  breathe  their  last,  and  unceremon- 
iously, for  the  sake  of  the  living,  consign  them,  dead,  to  the 
marshy  cemetery.  These  may  help  to  bring  home  to  us  of  this 
day  a  faint  idea  of  grief  stricken  La  Salle  the  year  after  the 
canal  was  finished. 

Providence,  ever  watchful  over  the  source  of  Christian  civili- 
zation, committed  to  the  Church,  did  not  allow  many  months 
to  slip  by,  since  the  departure  to  a  better  life  of  Bishop  Quarters, 
until  a  successor  was  appointed.  From  the  great  Jesuit  order, 
James  Oliver  Van  de  Velde  was  selected  the  second  Bishop  of 
Chicago. 

Missioner,  professor,  provinicial — pious,  learned,  and  vigorous, 
the  Bulls  came  to  Father  Van  de  Velde.  But,  formed  in  the 
school  of  ecclesiastics  of  the  days,  to  which  our  story  refers,  as 
he  had  been,  a  mitre  had  not  only  no  attraction  to  the  humble 
Jesuit:  yea,  it  was  even  formidable.  It  was  obedience  to  the 
will  of  Rome  to  which  James  Van  de  Velde  bent,  that  secured 
for  Chicago  its  second  Bishop. 

As  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  doubtless  he  prayed  "Lord  if  I  am 
necessary  to  Thy  people,  I  don't  refuse  work."  At  the  hands  of 
the  illustrious  Archbishop,  Peter  Richard  Kenrick,  in  St.  Francis 
Xavier  Church,  St.  Louis,  Feb.  11,  1849,  he  was  consecrated. 
Onto  and  at  his  apostolic  work,  like  the  Flagets  and  Rosati's  and 
Odin's  and  Timon's  he  went  without  delay. 

The  missionary  was  in  him,  and,  without  parade  of  any  kind, 
like  the  great  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  with  heavy  valise  in 
hand  had  entered  the  See  of  Baltimore ;  so  did  Bishop  Van  de 
Velde,  March  24,  forty-one  days  after  his  consecration,  enter 
La  Salle,  just  as  the  wagon  was  bearing  the  cholera  victims  to 
the  grave,  and  the  town  was  filled  with  lamentations.  One  with 
the  Fathers,  he  shared  the  humble  cabin,  and  took  his  place  in 
the  confessional,  for  the  following  day  he  would  administer  the 
Sacrament  of  Confirmation.  Was  it  an  inspiration  direct  from 
the  awful  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Bishop  or  to 
Father  O'Reilly,  to  fix  upon  and  determine  Passion  Sunday,  for 
thus  it  is  on  record,  for  imparting  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  Could  there 
have  been  a  more  suitable  hour  than  that  of  the  awful  agony 
of  the  Son  of  God  to  soothe  the  many  families  groaning  under  the 
weight  of  grief  for  lost  ones,  and  strengthen  them  in  this  hour  by 
the  indwelHng  of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  the  Holy  Ghost? 

Of  the  thirty-two  confirmed  Passion  Sunday,  1849,  not  one 
to  the  writer's  knowledge  at  this  writing,  survives. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Zeal  of  Bishop  Van  de  Velde  One  with  that  of  the  Missioners. — The 
Assistant  to  the  Superior. — The  Unselfish  Band  of  Laity. 

Although  a  few  weeks  in  the  Episcopacy,  yet  the  thoughtful 
ordinary  was  thoroughly  alive  to  the  needs,  and  was  wholly 
taken  up  with  the  work  of  his  people.  He  leaned  much  on  the 
Sons  of  St.  Vincent  of  Paul  for  the  upbuilding  of  his  diocese. 
The  Missioners  were  aware  of  this,  and  whilst  they  ever  wrought 
for  the  extension  of  the  faith,  they  had  ever  been  prudent, 
especially  in  relation  to  church  property;  to  free  it,  had  it  any 
flaw;  to  clear  its  title,  had  it  any  dimness;  above  all  to  guard 
it  against  Lay-Trusteeism. 

The  following  paragraph  taken  from,  a  letter  written  by  the 
Bishop  under  date  March  2,  185 1,  to  Father  John  O'Reilly  ex- 
plains the  zeal  of  the  Bishop  on  church  property  rights,  which 
the  obedient  Sons  of  their  great  Church  Rights'  defender  loudly 
applauded.  "No  church  property  can  be  possessed  by  seculars 
or  by  secular  priests:  and  such  was  thus  possessed  before  the 
decrees  of  the  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  were  issued,  and 
approved  in  Rome,  was  gradually  to  be  taken  out  of  their  hands, 
as  has  been  done  already  in  many  places.  The  system  of  having 
Lay  Trustees  has  been  productive  of  several  schisms,  in  this 
country  and  of  crimes  and  scandals  unnumbered." 

The  tide  of  immigrants  rushing  into  the  State  not  only  of 
those  from  the  rich  fair  and  rare  land,  but  likewise  from  the 
Schedt  and  the  Rhine  which  had  echoed  the  preaching  of  the 
Irish  Missioners  of  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  was  heartily 
welcomed  by  the  zeal  of  the  Bishop  and  the  faithful  Missioners. 
Different  from  the  hardy  Catholic  Irish  stock  clinging,  like  the 
Ivy  to  the  rock,  despite  the  loss  of  their  Aryan  tongue  almost  as 
coeval  as  the  Sanscrit,  the  German  Catholic  as  all  others  not 
Irish  must  have  "In  aternum  et  ultra,"  his  mother  tongue 
the  Teutonic  if  he  would  '  grow  in  wisdom  and  in  age  and  grace 
with  God  and  with  men."    The  pastor  of  the  flock  of  the  diocese 

(no) 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  iii 

plead,  and  not  in  vain,  for  German  Confreres  or  Confreres 
acquainted  with  the  vigorous  tongue. 

In  letters  of  1850  and  1851  addressed  to  the  Superior  of  the 
La  Salle  Missions,  the  Bishop  acquaints  him  with  the  fact  that  he 
plead  with  the  Very  Rev.  Visitor  Father  Mailer,  to  do  his  best 
and  supply  Peru,  Henry,  Troy  Grove,  Perkins  Grove,  in  which 
localities  German  Catholics  were  rapidly  making  their  homes, 
with  Fathers  from  the  "Vaterland."  The  same  letters  bear 
testimony  to  the  joy  this  shepherd  of  the  flock  felt  when  he  heard 
of  the  arrival  at  La  Salle  of  a  young  priest  in  October,  1850, 
then  hardly  a  year  ordained. 

Father  John  Joseph  Quigley,  for  this  is  his  name,  has  already 
been  lengthily  and  deservedly  noticed  in  the  writer's  story  of 
of  St.  Mary's  Seminary.  Nevertheless  so  worthy  a  son  of  St. 
Vincent  of  Paul  may  claim  a  fair  share  of  attention  in  this  La 
Salle  story  for  the  big  work  he  did  for  the  people  of  La  Salle's 
early  Missioners.  If  ever  St.  Vincent  of  Paul  had  a  son,  simple, 
righteous,  fearing  God,  withdrawing  from  evil,  an  enemy  of  all 
disguise,  a  despiser  of  human  respect,  a  zealot  after  souls,  a 
persistent  beggar  ,a  practical  speaker,  and  above  all,  a  man  of 
intense  fervor  and  "as  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter,"  that 
son  was  John  Joseph  Quigley.  The  shrewdness  of  Father  An- 
thony, he  had  not,  nor  had  he,  as  Father  Anthony,  insight  into 
character.  The  writer  has  his  grave  doubts  if  in  the  mission  of 
soliciting.  Father  Anthony  excelled  our  new  arrival. 

The  laymen  who  entered  their  names  as  members  of  old 
St.  Patrick's  at  the  end  of  the  forties  and  opening  of  the  fifties 
must  be  chronicled.  Squire  Patrick  Kilduff  and  his  excellent 
wife,  whose  home  for  years  sheltered  the  good  Fathers,  good 
Mrs.  Webb,  who  so  often  waited  upon  them  at  the  church,  the 
Prendergast  family,  so  close  to  the  old  Missioners,  and  with  an 
outburst  of  genuine  Irish  methods,  could  not  be  surpassed,  honest 
John  Johnson,  devoted  to  the  church  and  singulary  intelligent 
on  church  matters:  there  were  the  Delaneys  and  the  Flaherty's 
and  Patrick  Farrell  and  his  beautiful  wife,  whose  highest  am- 
bition was  to  serve  Jesus  Christ  in  the  person  of  His  priest,  and 
right  royally  did  she  ever  go  about  with  it  heart  and  purse. 
"God  blessed  Obededon  and  his  house,"  for  he  gave  the  mother 
joy  of  the  heart,  in  giving  her  as  He  did,  Anne  of  old,  a  son  to 
serve  Him  all  days  in  the  priesthood — our  Rev.  Michael  Cav- 
anaugh  C.  M.     In  1850,  Thomas  Shaw,  coming  from  Philadelphia 


112  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

by  way  of  the  Lakes,  arrived  in  La  Salle  and  formed  a  high 
estimate  of  Father  John  O'Reilly's  character,  getting  from  the 
experienced  Pastor  many  hints  that  were  profitable  to  the 
purchase  of  the  Shaw  homestead  west  of  the  hill  named  after 
the  owner.  A  little  previous  to  this  time  a  splendid  specimen 
of  the  Irish  race  walked  into  La  Salle,  a  man  any  real  man  would 
be  proud  to  own  as  an  acquaintance,  not  to  say  as  an  adviser 
and  friend,  John  O'Halloran.  The  writer  is  pleased  to  submit 
a  notice  on  his  life  long  friend  which  was  sent  to  and  published 
by  the  La  Salle  press  twenty  years  ago,  when  Father  Shaw  was 
on  mission  among  the  crags  and  under  the  peaks  of  the  Cen- 
tennial State: 

The  city  of  La  Salle,  111.,  has  lost  within  seven  months  two 
citizens  of  no  ordinary  type,  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Irish 
Church  two  members  of  no  ordinary  disitinction,  the  venerable 
John  Cody,  "the  guide,  philosopher  and  friend"  of  Church  and 
city  from  their  birth;  and  his  life-long  friend  John  O'Halloran 
the  honest,  the  sage,  whom  all  men  knew  to  esteem  and  love. 
In  1848,  when  the  tide  of  emigration  had  set  in,  hither,  from  the 
Green  Isle,  full  of  the  buoyancy,  yet  without  the  fickleness  of 
youth — for  he  was  then  in  his  29th  year,  John  O'Halloran  bade 
adieu  to  the  hills  of  sweet  Tipperary,  and  welcomed  in  September 
of  the  same  year  the  thrifty  town  of  the  Illinois,  named  after 
the  great  explorer.  He  became  book-keeper  to  the  accomplished 
Mr.  James  Laundrigan,  so  lovingly  remembered  by  the  old 
settlers  of  La  Salle.  The  gentlemanly  bearing,  for  he  "was  every 
inch  a  man,"  and  his  uncommon  discretion  were  a  magnetism, 
none  could  or  did  resist.  His  plain  dealing,  straight  forward 
method  lifted  him  up  in  the  esteem  of  all  classes.  His  place  of 
business  was  rather  a  centre  for  the  best  cultured  to  meet,  at  all 
hours  of  the  day,  to  hear  the  news,  exchange  views,  adopt  plans, 
devise  schemes  for  the  welfare  of  the  city,  than  it  was  a  market 
for  groceries.  And  yet  no  merchant  of  a  business  life  for  forty 
years,  had  been  more  punctual  to  duty,  more  conscientious  in 
keeping  books,  more  rigidly  honest  in  trade. 

The  hour  of  his  arrival  at  La  Salle  was  also  the  hour  of  the 
arrival  of  the  ablest  priest  of  all  the  La  Salle  clergy.  Father 
John  O'Reilly.  Grown  to  manhood  in  a  land  proverbial  for  the 
inspiring  reverence  due  to  the  personation  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the 
priest.  John  O'Halloran  had  come  filled  with  this  spirit,  which 
in  gale  or  breeze  or  storm  of  poHtical  or  moral  change  or  uprising, 


JOHN   o'hALLORAN. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  113 

never  in  a  long  career,  was  allowed  to  leak  out,  or  to  lessen  in 
any  degree.  Friendship  the  closest,  familiarity  the  most  fre 
quent,  never  dared  to  level  itself  with  that  higher  plane,  the  super- 
natural in  the  priest.  Our  lamented  friend's  chief  qualities  were 
his  unselfishness  and  prudence.  The  rising  Church  at  La  Salle 
and  in  the  twenty  out  missions,  attached  forty  years  ago  to  the 
mother  Church ;  the  services  he  rendered  as  choir  master  in  the 
old  log  church,  and  in  the  new  as  collector;  as  pilot  to  Fathers 
John  O'Reilly,  Quigley,  Alizeri,  Kramer,  Stehle;  as  the  right 
hand,  for  a  term  of  years,  of  Father  Anthony;  that  sameness 
of  character  which  never  lost  its  balance ;  that  readiness  to  assist 
the  interests  of  religion  on  all  occasions  are  treasured  up,  and 
breathe — wrought  up  by  the  perfumer — a  fragrance  destined  to 
be  [everlasting.  As  to  his  discretion,  what  the  contemporaries 
of  Ben  Jonson  exclaimed  of  their  hero;  "Oh!  rare  Ben  John- 
son," can  with  equal  truth  be  written  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  "Oh!  rare  John  O'Halloran."  He  had  in  truth  studied 
closely:  There  is  a  time  to  speak  and  a  time  to  be  silent,  that  to 
reach  an  end  worthy  of  man,  and  of  the  Christian,  mean  and^ 
despicable  means  must  never  be  applied.  Never  did  a  mother 
hide  the  blemishes  of  her  child  in  deeper  secrecy,  than  did  John 
O'Halloran  anything  coming  to  his  knowledge  relative  to  rep- 
utation. One  word  more.  His  love  for  Holy  Church  had  been 
strong  and  persevering.  By  conviction  he  was  a  practical  Cath- 
olic. His  pew  and  position  at  the  holy  table  were  as  marked  as 
the  figures  on  a  dial.  In  his  own  family  he  was  the  sum  of  all 
that  he  had  been  in  presence  of  the  public;  and  more,  for  in  his 
home  he  strove  specially  to  leave  behind  him  a  monument  given 
to  the  few  to  rear. 

The  family  of  which  he  was  the  respected  head,  have  ever 
in  that  life  of  nobility,  of  high  purpose  for  society  and  the  Church, 
which  has  just  gone  out  to  the  good  God,  a  splendor  bequeathed 
to  them,  that  let  us  hope  sincerely  will  not  be  permitted  to  be 
clouded.  Peace  be  to  his  ashes.  "The  just  man  shall  live  in 
everlasting  remembrance."  Could  the  writer  and  should  the 
writer  dare  to  push  to  the  background  the  two  noted  kiln  men 
who  supplied  the  noted  church  with  its  granite  lime,  one  to-day 
with  the  rock  into  which  it  has  grown,  honest  James  Cummings 
of  Peru,  and  noble-hearted  Terry  Cullen,  the  motto  on  their 
escutcheon,  "Honesty  is  the  best  policy,"  and  who  rank  high 
among  the  tradesmen,  whose  principle  had  ever  been :   The  best, 


114  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

the  very  best  to  Him  the  Giver  of  all,  to  the  Church  which  is 
His  body. 

No  jealousy  of  the  church  in  the  stalwarts  of  the  40's  and 
50's;  no  seizure  of  occasion  "to  catch  the  church  napping,"  to 
beat  the  church;  such  undignified  talk  when  the  church  or  work 
on  the  church  was  in  order,  would  have  been  heard  as  a  dead 
language,  or  have  been  regarded  with  greater  amazement  than 
an  Arizonian  Cannibal. 

Honorable  mention,  many  more  ask  for.  The  generous 
Hartnett  brothers  and  John  Leahy  and  the  Connellys  and  the 
Cumming's,  and  the  Charlie's  and  the  Crotty's,  did  not  fail  to 
lend  their  prowess  to  the  growth  of  the  town  and  give  support 
by  example  and  coin  to  the  saving  faith  of  the  Cross.  The 
Haskins  brothers,  Robert,  William  and  Thomas,  sturdy  as  the 
oak  on  their  native  heath,  tradesmen  to  a  finish,  and  firm  as  the 
Wicklow  Mountains  that  cradled  them,  with  as  pointed  wit  as 
as  Dean  Swift's,  and  humor,  rich  and  overflowing  "as  the  poet 
of  all  circles,"  straightforward,  without  an  angle,  fearless  to  do 
and  to  dare  where  rights  were  questioned,  ever  the  true  and  the 
trusted  friends  of  the  church ;  they  also  came  to  wield  the  influence 
of  character,  now  in  Christian  example,  now  in  industry  and  skill 
in  workmanship,  among  the  La  Salle  population.  Patrick  Boyle, 
whose  judgment  of  varieties  of  stone  none  could  or  dared  safely 
question,  who  was  no  ordinary  stone  mechanic  himself,  as  his 
rock  house  on  Joliet  Street  is  a  sample  of  his  skill,  and  who  was 
never  happier  than  when  he  admired,  to  the  writer's  amusement, 
the  chiselled  walls  of  our  venerable  church.  Patrick  likewise 
numbered  himself  one  of  La  Salle's  citizens  and  devoted  sons  of 
the  faith.  Worthies,  whom  memory  has  slipped,  cannot  be 
recorded,  and  the  impossible  cannot  be  attempted  unless  the 
fool's  errand  is  the  standard  of  common  sense. 

Such  a  list  of  parishoners,  many  distinguished,  all  practical, 
a  few  in  fitness  of  tact  and  unselfishness  ranking  above  others, 
any  parish  might  lawfully  boast,  and  as  a  giant,  run  its  way. 
With  Father  O'Reilly  for  pilot  and  his  lieutenants.  Revs.  An- 
thony and  Quigley  and  Stehle,  and  his  chosen  crew,  John  O'Hal- 
loran,  Thomas  Haskins,  and  Wm.  O'Reilly,  the  future  of  the 
Vessel  was  insured.  Heart  and  will,  time  and  strength,  for  days 
in  the  seasons  of  the  first  three  years  of  the  fifties  did  the  noble 
trio  named,  generously  give  themselves  as  ciceroni,  to  the  fathers. 
The  begging  tours  of  these  early  days  were  made  among  the  sons 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  115 

of  the  wittiest  of  races,  and  if  Father  Stehle  be  an  exception 
among  the  rest  of  the  Fathers,  all  the  rest,  Missioners  and  Laity, 
were  either  bom  wits  or  humorists,  or  could  easily  see  a  point 
of  the  ludicrous. 

The  Illinois  Central  R.  R.  was  pushing  northward  as  far  as 
Dixon;  thousands  of  men  were  engaged  building  it,  all  from  the 
Old  Sod.  The  humor  of  the  poor  fellows  after  the  priest  and 
his  faithful  guide  had  retired  to  their  room  in  the  big  shanty  for 
the  night,  the  Father  intending  at  five  o'clock  to  offer  Holy 
Mass,  and  before  the  Mass  to  sit,  on  the  morrow,  was  ever  a 
treat. 

"Mike,  how  do  you  like  his  Reverence?" 

"He'll  do."  "I  wonder  will  he  run  me!  I  haven't  knelt  to 
a  priest  in  twenty  years!" 

"Don't  be  talking;    sure  he'll  let  us  down  aisy." 

"John,"  said  Father  Quigley,  as  the  latter  heard  the  poor 
fellows  bantering  one  another  in  the  above  style,  "These  are 
queer  fellows."  To  the,  as  yet  inexperienced  ears  of  good 
Father  Quigley,  the  rough  sons  of  the  Gael  seemed  queer  fellows; 
yet  rough  as  they  appeared,  the  faith  was  enrooted,  and  the 
sublimest  dispositions  to  the  reception  of  the  Sacraments  and 
towards  the  adorable  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  as  any  priest  of  even 
limited  experience  may  witness  to,  and  as  our  missioner,  before 
his  return  to  La  Salle,  tearfully  acknowledged,  were  found.  No 
misgiving  had  the  young  and  honest  Father.  Nor  did  the  Father 
entertain  any  suspicion,  nor  was  he  thrown  into  that  wretched 
condition  of  indecision,  as  to  the  fitness  of  these  rough  diamonds 
to  receive  the  Bread  of  Life.  And  the  whole-souled  nature  they 
had  for  the  Soggarth  Aroon !     How  put  into  word ! 

What  in  their  eyes  was  the  gold,  hard  labor  brought  them 
and  which  lavishly  went  into  the  hand  of  God's  anointed,  com- 
pared with  the  love  they  bore  Him  through  Whose  ministry  all 
blessings  flow. 

Whatever  were  the  results  John  O'Halloran  gained  in  ex- 
perience of  men  and  from  his  close  intimacy  with  sincere  Father 
Quigley,  they  were  not  a  whit  more  treasurable  than  those  of 
Thomas  Haskins.  The  writer  amuses  himself  as  he  pictures  the 
able  mechanic  driving  Father  Quigley  southward  or  northward, 
opening  up,  out  of  the  Father's  office  hour,  a  fund  of  anecdote, 
every  spark  touching  the  finest  sensibilities  of  the  good  priest, 


ii6  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

until  the  father  grew  weak  from  laughter,  or  plunging  into  the 
gangs  of  ditchers  and  railroaders,  the  ready  spark  of  his  wit 
set  in  a  blaze,  bosses  and  men,  to  the  intense  delight  of  the 
Father  whose  stocks  briskly  and  handsomely  went  up.  These 
were  the  men,  and  these  the  occasions  that  enabled  the  Superior 
to  put  the  finishing  touch  on  the  stone  church. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

At  Last!  Entrance  into  the  New  Church  and  New  Home. — The 
Consecration  of  the  Massive  Pile — The  Sacrament  of  Con- 
firmation. 

On  the  feast  of  help  of  Christians,  1846,  Father  Anthony, 
of  happy  memory,  assisted  by  Father  Montuori  and  the  throng 
of  townsmen  and  canallers,  opened  foundation  for  the  new- 
church.  The  same  year,  Oct.  14,  at  the  urgent  request  of  the 
priests  of  the  Mission,  Bishop  Quarters  came  from  Chicago  and 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Patrick's.  On  June  1,  1851,  after 
much  thought,  deep  anxiety,  great  outlay,  incesssant  labor,  on 
the  part  of  the  Fathers  and  generous  people  far  and  near,  the 
shrine  where  the  Holy  One  would,  until  the  end  of  days,  take 
up  His  abode— "For  His  delights  are  to  be  with  the  children  of 
men,"  was  at  last  flung  open,  and  with  it  the  frame  dwelling, 
the  second  Home  for  the  Fathers,  sited  where  the  third  home 
stands.  Restored  by  Mr.  Nicholas  Duncan,  the  owner,  after 
fifty-five  years'  service,  the  relic  may  to-day  be  seen  doing  big 
service,  on  west  side  of  Marquette  Street  between  Second  and 
Third  Street. 

As  the  new  church  and  house  opened  to  Missioners  and 
people,  the  venerable  log  church  and  cabin  of  the  fathers  at  the 
same  time  closed  their  doors  forever. 

"This  life  is  all  chequered  with  pleasures  and  woes."  The 
passions  of  the  human  soul  are  joys  and  sorrows.  There  is  for 
the  larger  number  of  men  a  feeling  of  fascination  for  the  antique 
for  what  has  stood  to  them  so  closely,  with  what  they  have  been 
so  long  associated,  as  the  most  ordinary  object  connected  with 
home,  or  the  old  school,  or  "The  old  oaken  bucket  that  sat 
by  the  well."  The  fascination  for  the  log  church  of  the  Most 
Holy  Cross  on  the  part  of  the  simple,  generous  people  of  La 
Salle,  was  no  less  so.  Cabin  as  it  was,  it  had  been  blessed  and 
given  over  as  a  dwelling  for  Him  who  deigned  to  dwell  sacra- 
mentally  within  its  boarding.     Every  inch  of  its  floors,  walls, 

(117) 


ii8  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

and  ceiling,  was  holy  ground.  Numbers  of  them  had  been 
there  baptized  and  absolved  and  confirmed  and  taken  often 
"the  Bread  of  the  Strong,"  within  the  inclosure  they  had  tied 
the  indissoluble  knot  and  had  witnessed  the  last  rites  over  their 
beloved  ones.  The  supreme  worship  of  the  Holy  Mass,  they 
had  witnessed  daily  repeated,  and  from  the  rough  platform  had 
reached  their  ears  and  then  their  hearts,  the  eloquence  of  the 
Rosati's  and  Kenrick's  and  Timon's  and  Quarter's  and  Van  de 
Veld's  and  lastly  the  unctious  utterance  of  a  Quigley,  and  the 
oratory  of  John  O'Reilly.  So,  although  the  symmetrical  pile 
on  the  bluff  now  bade  them  welcome  within  its  spacious  courts 
although  the  Rock  Church  in  roof  and  walls  and  flooring  would, 
for  shelter  and  ease,  protection  and  comfort,  far  surpass  the 
cabin  of  the  valley,  yet  the  heart  of  the  people  clung  to  the  humble 
log  structure.  But  reason  rose  above  feeling  and  the  tent  sur- 
rendered to  the  temple,  and  the  log  house  that  had  served  its 
purpose  in  the  days  of  poverty,  made  way  for  a  shrine:  the 
admiration  in  that  day  of  Mr.  John  McMullen  of  Chicago,  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Davenport,  who,  correspondent  of  the  Western 
Tablet,  pubHshed  in  Chicago,  in  1852,  and  passing  through 
La  Salle,  wrote:  "Here,  there  is  a  beautiful  church,  built  of 
stone,  nearly  completed  and  affords  ample  testimony  to  the 
zeal  of  the  three  priests.  Revs.  John  O'Reilly,  Quigley  and  Stehle, 
who  minister  to  the  wants  of  a  very  extensive  mission,  reaching 
as  far  north  as  Dixon  on  the  Rock  River." 

The  writer  well  remembers  the  army  of  men  and  boys  bearing 
the  old  pews  and  kneelers  into  the  new  church,  and  most  care- 
fully did  the  busy  crowd  carry  from  the  priests'  log  shanty  into 
the  new  house  the  following  valuable  set  of  furniture,  which  the 
writer,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Thomas  Haskins,  senior,  here 
sets  down,  and  which  testimony,  at  least  for  some  of  the  pieces 
of  the  costly  set — excepting  the  utensils — is  confirmed  by  Rev. 
Thomas  A.  Shaw,  C.  M. 

1.  Eight  very  common  bed-steads. 

2.  Six  wooden  chairs. 

3.  One   wooden    arm-chair,    the    property   of    Father   John 

O'Reilly. 

4.  One  old  table. 

5.  One  old  cook- stove. 

6.  One  heating  stove. 

7.  Part  of  another  stove 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  119 

As  people  and  clergy  got  in  short  order  reconciled,  to  the 
new  order  of  things,  nothing  was  more  uppermost  in  the  minds 
of  the  Missioners,  especially  in  the  mind  of  the  Superior,  than 
to  enter  directly  on  preparation  for  the  consecration  of  the 
church.  The  writer  has  time  and  time  again,  been,  whilst  he 
asserted,  and  could  prove  what  he  asserts,  the  church  of  La 
Salle  was  consecrated,  not  flatly  contradicted,  but  his  word  has 
been  taken  with  a  degree  of  hesitancy  very  provoking.  The  con- 
secration of  a  church  in  the  years  of  the  fifties,  was,  it  must  be 
owned,  a  surprise.  Few  enjoyed  the  high  privilege.  The  Bal- 
timore Cathedral,  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Louis,  the  Church  of  St. 
Mary's,  Barrens,  Church  of  St.  Vincent  of  Paul,  St.  Louis,  none 
other  strike  the  memory  of  the  writer. 

The  building  of  the  great  edifice  as  the  reader  has  reflected, 
in  the  midst  of  a  thinly  settled,  poor,  fervent,  yet  generous  peo- 
ple, was  marvelous :  now  to  cover  it  with  the  riches  of  the  Liturgy 
in  a  serial  of  ceremonial  that  has  no  equal,  unfolds  to  us  the 
spirit  of  the  great  priests,  whose  ambition  was  alone  and  only 
the  interests  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Correspondence  between  the  illustrious  Bishop  Van  de  Velde 
and  Father  John  O'Reilly,  which  may  be  learned  from  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  was  chiefly  taken  up  with  the  consecration  of  the 
church.  It  is  pleasurable  to  read  the  interest  the  Bishop  takes 
in  inviting  prelates  of  high  name  as  Bishop  Loras  of  Dubuque, 
and  Bishop  Henni  of  Milwaukee,  in  inquiries  as  to  vestments, 
etc.,  that  the  great  ceremonial  may  be  fitly  and  devotedly  be- 
coming so  elevated  a  rite,  carried  out. 

Chicago,  March  7,  1853. 
Rev.  J.  O'Reilly, 
Rev.  Dear  Sir: — 
Received  a  letter  from  Bishop  Loras  who  states  that  he 
cannot  absent  himself,   on  account  of  the  absence  of  two  of 
his  priests  from  Dubuque.     V.  Rev.  Fr.  Murphy  and  Fr.  De  Smet 
also  state  thay  cannot  attend,  having  to  prepare  for  a  visit  to 
Rome. 

Some  things  have  escaped  me  in  my  former  letters:  ist, 
Could  you  have  the  children  of  La  Salle  and  Peru  prepared  for 
confirmation,  to  be  given  Sunday  afternoon  or  Monday  morning? 
2nd,  Could  not  Father  Alizeri  prepare  the  children  of  Henry  for 
Tuesday?  3rd,  Will  it  be  necessary  that  I  should  bring  down 
some  vestments  with  me?     Have  you  a  full  set,  Chasuble,  Cope 


120  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

and  Dalmatics,  and  are  they  good — two  or  three  copes  may  be 
needed.  Albs,  I  suppose  you  have  in  abundance,  if  not,  you 
will  have  time  to  get  some  made. 

You  know  I  sent  Mr.  McGuire  of  Lacon  about  his  business. 
Unless  one  of  you  visit  Henry  and  Hennepin,  they  will  be  aban- 
doned. 

I  remain  with  sincere  affection, 

Yours  devotedly  in  C, 

James  Oliver  Van  de  Velde, 
Bishop  Chicago. 

P.  S.     Bishop  Henni  promises  to  come,  if  he  can  get  away. 

Everybody  from  the  Superior  to  his  last  assistant  was  under 
the  influence  of  the  fast  approaching  solemnity.  Time  was 
taken  by  the  forelock.  Nigh  two  hundred  adults  were  already 
enrolled  in  the  confirmation  class,  which  would  follow  directly 
the  Consecration.  The  writer  well  remembers  the  stir  in  the 
parish  at  this  important  time  when  obedience  ordered  Father 
Quigley  to  St.  Louis,  and  the  same  authority  missioned  the 
theologian  and  poet.  Father  Alizeri  to  La  Salle. 

The  day  fixed  for  the  consecration  was  Sunday  "The  Good 
Shepherd,"  April  ii,  named  from  the  leading  words  of  the 
Gospel  "I  am  the  Good  Shepherd,"  and  which  was  also  the  feast 
of  the  transfer  of  the  relics  of  St.  Vincent  of  Paul,  father  and 
founder  of  the  La  Salle  Missioners.  The  atmosphere,  when  the 
day  dawned,  befitted  the  work  of  lengthy  hours  and  lightened 
a  burden  a  sultry  day  would  have  made  unbearable  to  especially 
the  consecrating  Prelate.  There  were  present  the  ordinary  of 
the  diocese.  Bishop  Van  de  Velde,  the  consecrating  Bishop, 
James  Duggan,  of  Immaculate  Conception,  St.  Louis;  the 
preacher.  Father  John  O'Reilly,  C.  M.,  John  J.  Lynch,  C.  M.  Su- 
perior of  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Barrens,  Mo. — afterwards  founder 
of  Niagara  Seminary,  and  Archbishop  of  Toronto.  Father  Mc- 
Laughlin of  St.  Patrick's,  Chicago;  Father  Denis  Dunne,  pastor 
of  St.  Columba's,  Ottawa;  Father  Stehle,  C.  M;.  Father  Joseph 
Alizeri,  C.  M.  The  sanctuary  boys,  Michael  Croghan,  John 
Murphy,  Thomas  A.  Shaw,  and  John  Kelly,  who  had  accom- 
pained  Father  Lynch  from  the  old  seminary  to  his  La  Salle  home. 

Early  at  the  appointed  hour  the  procession  formed  and 
headed  by  the  cross-bearer  and  acolytes  and  censer-bearer, 
followed  by  the  priests  and  illustrious  Bishop  moved  towards 
the  church  when  the  ceremonies  of  consecration  began,  went 


2ND    RECTORY    OF   THE    LA    SALLE    MISSIONERS. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  121 

on  and  finished;  consuming  nigh  three  hours,  followed  by 
the  Pontifical  High  Mass,  during  which  the  eloquent  silver- 
tongued  speaker  of  our  western  chuch.  Rev.  James  Duggan, 
afterwards  fourth  Bishop  of  Chicago,  addressed  the  great  gather- 
ing assembled.  "All  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell."  For  the 
day  all  was  over;  dignitaries,  chiefly  the  bishop,  were  wearied; 
the  people  no  less:  rest  was  in  order  and  with  rest  still  further 
nourishment. 

Indescribable  was  the  joy  of  soul  that  filled  the  hearts  of 
Missioners  and  people  April  11,  1853 — the  date  of  making  over 
by  the  sublimest  of  ceremony  the  venerable  church  in  which 
we  adore,  to  the  greater  glory  of  God  and  in  honor  of  the  glorious 
Apostle  of  the  Irish  Race,  St.  Patrick. 

In  the  meanwhile  in  the  bold  and  beautiful  hand  of  the 
artist,  the  Superior,  Father  John  O'Reilly,  registered  the  follow- 
ing, which  the  writer  transfers  from  the  Registry  of  Baptisms, 
and  does  into  English  for  the  benefit  of  the  readers  of  that 
language : 

Aprilis  die  undecima  consecrata  est  ecclesia  Lassalensis  sub 
invocatione.  Sancti  Patricii  Hibernie  dicti  apostoli,  ab  Illus- 
trimo  et  Reveredmo  Episcopo  Chicagiensis  Domino  Jocobo 
Oliverio  Van  de  Velde,  proesentibus  Reverdis  D.  D.  J.  O'Reilly 
proe  fatoe  ecclesioe  pastor e,  J .  Alizeri  assistenti,  Kramar  vicar io, 
J.  Lynch  Supre.  Stoe.  Mariae  Seminarii  '^Barrens,'"  omnibns 
quatuor  Lazaristis,  quorum  cur  a  et  sumptu  multo,  oedificata 
erat  ecclesia,  cum  aliis  cleris,  J.  Duggan  de  Sto  Ludovico,  Mc- 
Laughlin de  Chicago,  Dunne  de  Ottawa. 

THE    ENGLISH    OF    IT. 

April  II,  1853,  the  La  Salle  church  was  consecrated  under 
the  invocation  of  St.  Patrick,  Apostle  of  Ireland,  by  the  most 
Illustrious  and  most  Rev.  James  Oliver  Van  de  Velde,  Bishop 
of  Chicago,  assisted  by  four  Lazarists,  John  O'Reilly,  rector  of 
said  church;  Joseph  Alizeri  and  Kramer,  assistants,  and  J.  J. 
Lynch,  Superior  of  St.  Mary's  Seminary  "The  Barrens,"  others 
of  the  clergy  graced  the  occasion;  J.  Duggan  of  St.  Louis,  M.  M. 
McLaughlin,  Chicago,  D.   Dunne,  Ottawa,  Ills. 

Monday,  April  12,  one  hundred  and  nintey-six  adults  stood 
before  the  newly  consecrated  altar  in  the  beautiful  church,  on 
whom,  after  a  short  address  explanatory  of  the  nature,  dispo- 
sitions and  effects  of  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation,  the  zealous 


122  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

bishop  imposed  hands,  ninety-eight  of  the  vigorous  of  humanity, 
ninety-nine  of  the  '^devout." 

The  survivors  after  fifty-four  years,  here  or  near,  deserve 
mention:  Joseph  Michae)  McNamara,  Henry  Dillon,  Wm. 
O'Brien,  James  Feeney,  Patrick  Cavanaugh  (Chicago),  James 
J.  Boyle  (Peoria),  Michael  Minahan,  Jeremias  Reardon  (Dimick), 
John  Connerton  (Dimick),  Mary  Ann  McNamara  and  Bridget 
Ferguson  (Minneapolis). 

The  "Rari  nantes  in  gurgite  vasto,"  in  sober  truth  conveying 
the  lesson  of  the  fickleness  and  brittleness  of  the  human  vase — 
excellent  if  "The  scent  of  the  roses"  breathed  from  a  Christian 
life,  "will  hang  around  it." 

Tuesday,  April  13,  the  distinguished  guests  of  Father  John 
O'Reilly  went  each  one  to  his  home.  Since  the  unwearied  Bishop 
had  Peoria  to  visit,  most  pleasurable  it  was  for  Father  Duggan 
and  Father  Lynch,  accompanied  by  the  amiable  and  talented 
John  Kelly,  now  on  the  return  to  their  southern  home,  to  enjoy 
the  company  of  the  prelate  part  of  the  way. 

The  handsome  side  wheeler,  "The  Garden  City,"  wriggling 
and  blustering,  impatient  to  slip  her  moorings  and  be  off,  re- 
ceived her  distinguished  passengers.  Under  the  aegis  of  the 
Superior  of  the  Barrens  and  with  the  blessing  of  his  joyful  yet 
affected  parents  of  his  own  j 03'-  and  the  joy  of  Fathers  John 
O'Reilly  and  Alizeri  and  Kramer,  each  of  them  a  worthy  branch 
of  St.  Vincent's  vine;  the  present  story-teller  of  the  La  Salle 
Mission,  then  a  lad  of  fifteen,  boarded  the  floating  palace,  which 
in  the  fraction  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  was  out  of  the  basin  and 
into  the  river,  heading  for  her  point  of  destination,  St.  Louis. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Favorite  Oiitmission  the  Lostlands,  of  the  Early  Missioners 
— The  German  Catholic  Settlements. — The  Era  of  the  First 
Railroads. — The  La  Salle  Coal  Fields. — The  Cholera  and  the 
Hymeneal  Seasons  of  1854. 

Few  things  are  there  to  hghten  more  the  burden  of  priestly 
duty,  than  the  value  his  charge  sets  upon  his  services.  Flesh 
and  blood  he  is  no  less  than  the  people  he  labors  for  and  although 
his  motive  to  work  in  the  last  resort,  is  not  human  applause  but 
the  good  pleasure  of  his  Maker,  yet  is  he  encouraged  by  the  active 
co-operation  of  his  children,  that  is  he  strives  in  the  language 
of  tue  Church  "Always  to  abide  in  thanksgiving — so  should 
they;  and,  in  truth,  the  settlement  of  the  Big  Vermilion,  or  the 
Lost  Lands,  now  Eagle  Township,  was  the  consolation  of  the 
early  Fathers  outside  of  La  Salle :  and  not  only  was  it  the  magnet 
for  the  Fathers,  but  likewise  for  the  residents  of  our  old  town. 
The  monthly  trip,  despite  the  season  of  the  year  from  1850  to 
1856,  when  the  little  mission  was  handed  over  to  the  care  of 
the  iDishop,  who  added  it  to  Ottawa  as  its  out-mission,  was 
scrupulously  attended  to ;  and  the  day  for  starting  to  the  little 
mission  was  as  eagerly  watched  by  favorite  families,  as  if  a  visit  to 
the  closest  relations  was  in  question.  The  memories  of  that  epoch 
of  faith  are  among  the  sweetest  the  writer  recalls^  not  alone 
because  of  the  enjoyment  he  had  with  the  saintly  men  with 
whom  he  rode  over  the  magnificent  stretch  of  rolling  prairie, 
on  which  it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  at  all  seasons  to  see 
deer  in  two's,  yea,  as  at  Bailey's  Falls,  six  times  two,  or  the 
prairie  chicken  in  the  fall  as  thick  as  bees  around  a  hive;  but 
the  memories  of  that  era  of  faith  are  amongst  the  sweetest, 
because  of  Irish  hearts  of  faith  and  hospitality.  What  a  recep- 
tion the  Belford's  and  the  Connesse's  and  the  Kane's,  and  the 
Cofley's,  and  the  Berry's,  and  the  Finn's,  and  the  Prendergast's, 
and  the  Quinn's,  and  the  Riordan's  gave  his  reverence  and  his 
acolyte;    informal,  if  you  will,  not  on  that  account  the  less 

(123) 


124  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

genuine:  every  one  vieing  with'another  who  would  do  the  most 
for  him  whom  they  looked  upon  "Every  inch  a  king."  Espec- 
ially cannot  the  writer  forget  the  grand  old  Donegal,  Mr.  Belford 
and  his  excellent  wife!  No,  no;  the  Belford  family  never  felt 
prouder  than  when  Father  John  O'Reilly  or  Father  John 
Quigley  or  Father  Joseph  Alizeri  deigned  to  make  their  log  house 
a  church  and  a  home.  And  what  a  spread  was  served  up  in 
honor  of  the  missioner  when  the  sublime  mysteries  were  over 
to  which  the  above  named  families  were  invited  and  answered 
the  call — none  of  your  dress  parade  for  man  and  woman,  boy 
or  girl  of  the  early  Lostlanders!  Suitable  head-gear  and  boots 
and  the  jean  suit  for  the  men  and  boys;  the  cotton  dress  for  the 
women  and  girls,  with  the  simple  sun  bonnet,  so  modest,  or  hood 
that  spoke  comfort  as  the  season  demanded.  "The  age  of  Faith." 
As  poor  as  the  times  were,  yet  the  good  Missioner  never  turned 
his  horses'  heads  toward  La  Salle,  and  bade  adieu  for  an- 
other month  without  something  worth  while  from  his  clever 
Lostlanders.  Blessings  in  showers  fell  and  deservedly  on  parents 
and  children  of  the  Big  Vermilion.  It  was  a  happy  omen  to 
name  the  township,  Eagle,  for  like  the  eagle,  the  first  settlers 
soared  aloft  and  sought  their  Empire  above.  Obeying  the 
command  "Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  Justice, 
and  all  things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  Any  one  interested 
in  the  growth  of  faith  and  wealth  need  only  see  for  himself  on 
any  Sunday  he  selects  to  be  an  adorer  in  the  Annunciation 
Church  at  Eagle,  a  gathering  of  Irish  and  Irish- American  stock 
of  which  he  may  boast  and  which  will  force  him  to  exclaim:  "I 
have  not  found  such  great  faith  in  Israel!"  The  genuine  zealous 
Soggarth  Aroon,  who  has  spent  himself  for  nearly  a  quarter  of 
a  century  on  the  site  where  the  Lazarists  first  opened  the  Eagle 
Mission,  and  who  has  raised  monuments  in  sacred  shrines  and 
rectory  and  school  house  of  brick,  to  the  "King  of  Ages,  immor- 
tal and  invisible,"  and  far  above  the  monuments  of  brick  and 
mortar,  has  kept  alive  in  full  glow  "The  lamp  that  was  lit  at 
Kildare's  Holy  Fane"  earns  from  all  who  admire  the  beautiful 
and  the  true,  and  certainly  from  his  old  friend,  the  writer,  this 
passing  reference;  for  after  the  love  the  writer  bears  La  Salle, 
and  his  college  home,  no  spot  is  more  endeared  to  him  than  the 
favorite  out-mission,  the  Lostlands  of  our  early  Fathers,  the 
present  home  of  Rev.  Michael  J.  Egan. 

The  Fathers  were  intent  on  meeting  the  wishes  of  the  good 


STORY  OP  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  125 

Bishop  in  favor  of  the  many  German  Catholics  entering  at  this 
period  into  the  Diocese  of  Chicago.  "I  think,"  wrote  Bishop 
Van  de  Velde  to  Father  John  O'Reilly,  "that  the  priest  whom 
very  Rev.  Father  Mailer  intends  to  send  does  not  know  the 
German  language.  Does  Father  Anthony  know  it?  If  not,  it 
would  be  well  for  your  reverence  to  apply  for  one  who  knows 
that  language,  which  is  so  necessary  in  your  missions,  especially 
about  Dixon,  Oregon,  Henry,  etc." 

The  following  letter  written  to  the  writer  from  his  confrere, 
Father  Kramer,  will  be  of  interest  to  our  German  Catholics  of 
the  old  time  and  their  children  of  to-day: 

J.  M.  J.  V. 

Vienna,  21-7,  '89. 
Reverend  Sir: 

Gratia  D.  N.  J.  S.  S.   Nobiscum: 

Thanking  you  for  your  kind  letter  I  will  search  in  my  mind 
to  find  the  points  which  you  wish  to  know  of  me. 

I  received  ordination  in  our  Church  of  Bouligny  (Jefferson) 
1853  by  Archbishop  Blanc.  One  day  after  I  left  Louisiana  for 
going  to  La  Salle.  On  the  way  I  stopped  fourteen  days  at  St. 
Louis  to  supply  Mr.  Rolando.  Fourteen  days  after  Easter  I 
came  to  La  Salle.  There  I  found  Mr.  O'Reilly  as  Superior  and 
Mr.  Alizeri.  Short  time  after  Mr.  Alizeri  was  changed  and  Mr. 
Anthony  took  his  place.  I  have  been  in  La  Salle  from  two 
weeks  after  Easter,  1853  until  Oct.  28th,  1854.  Mission  took 
place  at  La  Salle,  Mr.  Lynch,  O'Reilly  and  myself  (for  the 
Germans.)  In  Peru  I  built  the  Church  for  the  Germans  about 
800  at  that  time  in  Peru  and  about.  Mr.  Pulver  and  the  Mayor 
of  the  city  were  the  persons  who  took  care  of  the  treasury.  The 
mayor  or  boss-man  and  many  freemasons  went  with  me  from 
house  to  house  to  collect.  The  Church  finished,  I  pro-ceeded 
there  nearly  every  Sunday. 

Nearly  every  month  I  was  going  to  the  junction  (Bureau) 
about  18  miles  from  La  Salle.  There  I  built  the  Church  about 
30  X  50  feet — 300  persons.  From  time  to  time  I  visited  Henry. 
Three  miles  above  Henry  is  a  German  settlement  where  I 
blessed  the  graveyard,  going  there  once  every  month.  Hennepin 
from  time  to  time.  Mr.  O'Reilly  went  to  Hennepin,  Henry, 
and  Perkins,  going  several  times  in  the  year.  Mr.  O'Reilly  and 
I  went  from  time  to  time,  until  Dixon,  about  forty  miles  from 


126  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

La  Salle,  preaching  and  hearing  confessions  for  the  Irish  people 
working  on  the  different  railroads.  South  of  La  Salle  I  was 
going  evey  month  to  the  German  settlement  (probably  around 
Leonore)  and  sometimes  also  until  Bloomington. 

In  the  rest  of  the  letter,  now  lost,  the  writer  remembers 
reading  of  the  labors  of  the  good  Father  Kramer  in  Troy  Grove, 
and  around  Mendota  for  his  German  brethren.  It  is  needless  to 
say  the  son  of  St.  Vincent  made  his  way  to  the  hearts  of  his 
compatriots,  because  of  his  calm  and  prudent  behavior.  Called 
by  obedience  into  Austria  he  there  for  years  wrought  on  the 
missions  and  passed  to  his  reward  after  a  long  and  useful  life 
in  74th  year  of  his  age  and  52nd  year  of  his  reHgious  life  at 
Vienna,  Austria,  Feb.  2,  1901. 

The  care  of  the  German  Catholics  in  Peru  and  out-missions 
passed  on  to  Father  Eugene  Muller,  a  highly  accomplished  con- 
frere, who  continued  the  work  laid  down  so  firmly  by  the  zealous 
Father  Peter  Kramer. 

The  era  of  railroads  had  struck  La  Salle  early,  but  as  the 
canal,  suspended  work  for  years,  the  Rock  Island,  in  1853  had 
built  from  La  Salle  to  Rock  Island,  and  the  Illinois  Central 
in  1854  had  bridged  the  Illinois  River  when  its  northern  train 
and  southern  train  met  at  La  Salle.  The  town  had  already  risen 
to  the  dignity  of  a  city  and  had  its  first  mayor,  the  accomplished 
lawyer  and  statesman,  Alexander  Campbell,  under  whose  mild 
administration  for  two  terms  the  city  became  prosperous. 
During  the  forties,  coal  found  here  and  there  near  the  surface 
had  been  dug  and  burned  in  a  few  houses,  notably  in  the  old 
log  church;  but  owing  to  the  plethora  of  timber,  the  black 
diamond  had  had  little  attraction.  In  the  years  of  railroad 
enterprise,  the  greatest  coal  field  and  market  in  the  Garden 
State  were  open.  The  area  covered  was  13,120  acres  in  La  Salle 
alone,  containing  three  veins,  the  first  at  the  depth  of  150  feet; 
second,  eighty  feet  lower;  and  the  third,  at  the  depth  of  400 
feet.  "La  Salle,"  writes  an  authority,  "in  1870,  is  probably  the 
best  coal  field  as  well  as  the  most  extensive ;  with  eleven  shafts 
it  raises  annually  217,900  tons.  The  best  coal  in  the  county." 
As  the  canal  drew  scores  of  men  to  this  historic  spot,  so  the 
completion  of  the  road  and  the  opening  up  of  the  vast  deposits 
of  coal  brought  in  a  multitude  of,  for  the  most  part,  Catholic 
miners  who  became  for  over  a  generation  the  sinew  of  church 
and  state.     Previous  to  the  coming  of  the  army  of  miners,  there 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  127 

entered  into  La  Salle  and  enrolled  themselves  as  members  of 
St.  Patrick's  Parish,  Francis  Harrison,  the  founder  of  the  Har- 
rison House,  and  Michael  Byrne,  whom  any  society  would  have 
been  proud  to  own.  In  propping  up  the  religion  of  their  fathers, 
they  were  ever  amongst  the  foremost.  Francis  Harrison, schooled 
in  the  principles  of  the  immortal  Bishop  England  of  Charleston, 
was  no  ordinary  Catholic  or  citizen.  Dignified,  austere,  firm,  res- 
olute, a  thinker  and  a  reader  of  character,  a  gentleman  "Sans  peur 
et  sans  reproche,"  scathing  the  modern  humbug,  and  smiting  the 
evil  doer,  he  might  truthfully  say  with  the  intellectual  poet  of 
our  great  language.  "I  have  not  loved  the  world,  nor  the 
world  me.  I  have  not  flattered  its  rank  breath  nor  bowed  my 
patient  knee  to  its  idolatry."  Nor  may  I  pass  in  silence,  Mr. 
Michael  Byrne,  who  for  two  generations  ever  stood  the  friend 
of  the  Church;  and  when  he  did  control  his  thousands,  his  hand 
and  heart  were  ever  open  to  the  call  of  pity  and  distress. 

So  clever  a  soul  came  none  too  soon,  for  occasions  multiplied, 
would  offer  as  now.  For  the  fourth  time  cholera  scourged 
La  Salle.  One  hundred  and  ninety-seven,  among  them  the 
worthy  Father  of  the  present  writer,  are  the  figures  for  1854 
in  La  Salle  and  neighborhood  of  the  fell  destroyer.  Yet  did  not 
so  wholesale  a  carnage  stop  the  road  to  matrimony.  Never  did 
La  Salle  before  or  since,  roll  up  the  number  of  Hymen  as  it  did 
in  this  fatal  year.  Before  the  altar  in  October,  1854,  twenty- 
four  couples  pledged  their  love  to  each  other  forever — whilst  the 
same  month  of  October,  saw  hurried  to  the  repulsive  pit,  thirty. 
Who  may  question  the  lion-hearted  courage  of  so  many  braves 
who,  whilst  the  fell  arrows  in  showers  rained  on  the  doomed 
little  city,  prepared,  by  tying  the  unbroken  knot,  to  fight  the 
battle  of  life ! 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Daughters  of  St.  Vincent  of  Paul  are  Charged  with  the  Educa- 
tional Training  of  the  Daughters  of  La  Salle  and  Surround- 
ings.— Mendota  New  Outmission. — Imported  Letters. — Father 
John  O'Reilly  is  appointed  Superior  of  St.  Vincent.s. 
St.  Louis    Mo. 

To  blunder  is  the  weakness  of  human  nature;  and  as  if  to 
show  no  matter  how  high  the  parts  and  attainments,  there  lurks 
as  in  choicest  fruits  the  tiny  canker  worm,  a  flaw.  Christian 
writer,  orator,  statesman,  scholar,  was  Gladstone,  yet  he  com- 
mitted his  blunders.  Writing  of  the  converts  that  flowed  into 
the  CathoHc  Church  in  England  during  his  time,  he  put  down: 
"The  conquests  have  been  chiefly  as  might  have  been  expected 
among  women."  The  celebrated  Mrs.  Margaret  F.  SulHvan, 
wife  of  Lawyer  Alexander  Sullivan  of  Chicago,  in  a  brilliant 
erudite  paper  entitled,  "Chiefly  among  Women,"  called  the 
British  statesman  to  task  for  his  insinuation  or  slur  that  woman 
should  be  looked  upon  as  a  mere  child,  whose  will  was  ever 
another's  and  not  her  own,  who  had  mental  calibre,  either  to 
bring  home  an  argument  or  accept  an  argument,  that  the  most, 
and  only  purpose  for  woman  was  a  helper  to  man;  that  her 
vocation  was  the  hearth,  as  wife,  mother,  sister,  daughter,  and  in 
each  of  these  roles,  would  she  shine.  As  intellectual  leader  on 
a  little  or  a  great  question,  where  weighty  matters  were  in- 
volved, woman  was  not  built  by  nature  for  this,  nor  ought 
the  powers  of  Church  or  State  fit  her  for  any  higher  education 
than  reading,  working  a  few  figures,  and  her  mental  acquire- 
ments should  be  at  an  end.  And  this  view  of  a  girl,  a  woman's 
education,  as  to  letters,  was  the  view  of  the  great  Count  de 
Maistre,  and  as  the  accompHshed  Mrs.  Buchanan  SulHvan  scored 
Gladstone  for  his  shallow  view  of  women,  no  less  did  the  illus- 
trious Bishop  Dupanloup  call  DeMaistre  to  order,  in  a  series 
of  articles  which  were  printed  in  the  Catholic  world  in  the  6o'_s, 
where  he  showed  that  woman  has  often  shown  superiority  in 

(128) 


THE     HASKINS    HOUSE,     1ST    SCHOOL    OF    THE    SISTERS. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  129 

letters  and  in  the  other  arts  where  men  have  failed,  that  she 
who  must  indite  society  with  the  true,  the  beautiful  and  the 
chaste,  ought  to  be  well  stored  herself;  and  that  the  glorious 
S.  Jerome  had  urged  the  Sainted  Paula  to  leave  nothing  undone 
to  the  fit  education  in  letters  of  her  daughter  Paulina.  Volumes 
would  be  neessary  to  tell  what  the  Christian  woman — not  to 
say  the  the  heroines  even  outside  Christianity — has  done  in 
the  world  of  arts  and  sciences.  To  this  the  writer  pointedly 
refers.  The  girl  must  then  be  educated  and  just  as  much  as 
the  boy,  avocations,  of  course,  always  carefully  weighed. 

The  priests  of  the  Mission  led  by  Father  John  O'Reilly  had 
nothing  nearer,  now  as  the  great  church  was  up  and  largely 
paid  for,  than  the  erection  of  a  school  for  the  girls  of  the  parish, 
with  the  Sisters  to  train  them.  No  want  more  quickly  should 
be  met.  The  sons  of  S.  Vincent  of  Paul  here,  the  daughters  of 
the  same  saint  would  be  heartily  welcomed. 

In  a  letter  of  1854  addressed  to  Father  Burlando,  C.  M., 
director  of  the  Daughters  of  Charity  of  the  United  States. 
Father  John  O'Reilly,  C.  M.  asks  for  the  Sisters.  Oct.,  1854, 
the  Sisters  band  arrived:  the  Saintly  Sister  Vincentia  Repplier, 
Sister  Servant,  Sister  Leontine  Cissel,  Sister  Mary  Dougherty, 
and  Sister  Mary  Virginia  Joyce,  and  after  the  Fathers,  none  of 
all  the  people  were  more  gratified  in  welcoming  the  Daughters 
of  Charity  than  the  Byrne  family.  Mrs.  Eliza  Higgins  had  been 
educated  at  the  Academy  of  S.  Joseph's,  Emmittsburg,  and 
had  inhaled  the  aroma  of  that  favored  spot,  sanctified  by  the 
sweat  of  scores  of  holy  women.  The  old  two-story  brick  house 
on  2nd  near  Chartres  almost  opposite  where  the  old  log  church, 
and  afterwards  the  Brothers'  School,  stood,  belonging  to  the 
Haskins  brothers  was  for  a  year  the  home  of  the  Sisters  and  the 
girls'  school  of  S.  Patrick's  parish.  The  Sisters  took  in  and  put  up 
cheerfully  with  the  surroundings  for  what  one  of  them,  from  the 
delicate  Sister  Vincentia  to  Sister  Virginia,  had  not  at  Emmitts- 
burg, lived  in  the  traditions  of  Saintly  Mother  Seton,  and  if  they 
had  not  seen  her  in  her  mortifications,  they  certainly  had  seen  and 
enjoyed  Sister  Martha,  who  had  knelt  at  the  knee  of  the  first 
great  Mother  and  received  that  austere  education  so  plainly 
witnessed  in  the  grand  old  school  forty  years  ago.  Oh!  how 
memory  brings  the  writer  back  to  the  sisters,  Sarah  Agnes  and 
Martha,  and  Florence,  and  Olympia,  and  David,  of  St.  Louis; 
Ann  Regina,  of  Chicago;   Anne  Alexes  and  Almeda  of  Boston; 


13©  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

Valentine  and  Felix  of  Albany;  Sister  Sarah  Agnes  of  Troy;  Ro- 
bertine  of  Buff  alo  ;Gonzaga  of  Philadelphia  ;and  Severina  and  Wal- 
burgs  and  Olympia,  whose  characters  were  a  reflex  of  the  great  Fa- 
ther and  founder,  St.  Vincent.    What,  therefore,  were  ravines  and 
streetless  ways  and  the  quagmires  with  which  the  journey  from  the 
Haskins  house  to  the  present  church,  to  the  scholars  of  the  relig- 
ious women  just  mentioned.     The  daily  walk,  from  July  1854,  to 
July,  1855,  to  and  from  the  Great  Sacrifice  what  was  it  but 
carrying  a  large  supply,  the  maintenance  of  corporal,  mental 
and  spiritual  strength.     "You  shall  draw  waters  at  the  foun- 
tains of  the  Saviour."     The  temporary  school  or  academy  in  no 
way  hindered  the  thirst  of  knowledge  nor  lessened  the  appetite, 
either  in  the  Sister  teachers  or  their  scholars.     The  sister  of  the 
writer  was  the  first  boarder — an  excellent  start  in  a  great  way 
to  success,  as  the  first  blow  is  half  the  battle.     The  reputation 
the  Daughters  of  Charity  achieved  their  first  year,  in  all  the 
branches  of  a  sound,  polite  education,  has  after  fifty- three  years, 
not  only  not  lessened  but  rather  year  following  year,  heightened 
their  fame.     Oh!  what  does  not  La  Salle's  daughters  owe  to  the 
curriculum  in  morals  and  letters  they  ran  under  the  guidance 
and  protection  of  these  spiritual  mothers !     What  a  programme 
monthly,  and  chiefly  yearly,  was  represented  and  the  programme 
never  wearies,  made  up  of  an  intellectual,  moral  and  social  menu 
which  even  St.   Louis  or  Philadelphia  of  that  day  might  well 
deign  to  share.     The  scholars  of  the  first  year  of  our  Sisters, 
outlivers  of  a  past,  which  even  its  poverty — yet  because  of  its 
simplicity,  is  a  glorious  past — are  like  the  snow  flowers,  few 
representatives  of  the  early  Sisters'  girls  of  whom  their  child- 
ren to-day  may  well  be  proud. 

"In  the  year  1855,"  says  the  old  manuscript  kept  at  St. 
Joseph's  Central  House,  Emmittsburg,  Md.,  "the  Sisters  found 
a  nice  comfortable,  square  stone  house  awaiting  them,  very 
well  furnished,  with  all  that  was  necessary;  which  furnishing 
had  been  done  under  the  supervision  of  Mrs.  EHza  Higgins,  who 
had  been  a  boarder  at  St.  Joseph's  for  some  years,  assisted  by 
her  protestant  sister-in-law,  who  afterwards  became  a  Catholic 
in  Detroit." 

At  home,  in  earnest,  the  Daughters  of  Charity  studied,  in 
every  reasonable  way,  to  build  and  build  well  that  monument 
to  religion,  morality  and  learning  in  which  the  people,  far  and 
near,  especially  of  those  of  the  household  of  the  faith  are  so 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  131 

deeply  interested  that  education  is  a  passion  to  them,  as  it  ever 
has  been.  Largely  to  John  O'Reilly  with  the  assistance  of  his 
Confreres  Fathers  Anthony  and  Kramer,  are  our  Daughters  of 
Charity,  and  generous  people  of  old  St.  Patrick's  indebted  for 
the  first  beginnings  of  our  own  Women's  high  Catholic  Culture. 

To  the  great  joy  of  Father  O'Reilly,  our  tireless  and  success- 
ful Rev.  M.  Anthony  returned  to  La  Salle  in  the  fall  of  1853. 
He  had  done  much  in  collecting  for  the  Church  in  La  Salle.  In- 
deed during  the  three  years  of  his  absence,  Baltimore  had  been 
blessed  by  his  example  and  labors,  for  he  had  purchased  ground 
for,  and  had  erected  a  neat  little  brick  church  on  the  site  of  the 
present  handsome  structure,  which  throughout  Baltimore,  from 
the  utterance  of  all  classes,  went  by  the  name  of  Father  Anthony's 
Church. 

No  sooner,  therefore,  had  he  touched  La  Salle  once  more, 
which  he  found  advanced  so  rapidly  in  three  years,  everybody 
and  everything  throbbing  with  life,  than  he  quickened  the  flame. 
Energy  and  enterprise  in  these  years,  though  of  a  delicate  build, 
were  his.  The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  ran  daily  one  train  from 
La  Salle  to  a  prairie  village  of  Shanties  northward  fifteen  miles, 
called  Mendota.  Monthly  first,  and  then  fortnightly.  Father 
Anthony  from  the  Autumn,  1855  to  Autumn  1856,  visited  his 
Mendotians. 

Patrick  McKean's  boarding-house  had  been  the  first  house 
he  entered,  and  he  was,  the  writer  was  assured,  wringing  wet. 
No  one  knew  his  reverence,  but  his  reverence,  with  his  own, 
whom  he  dearly  loved,  in  a  flash  was  at  home. 

"Would  you  give  Father  Anthony  from  La  Salle  a  cup  of 
coffee,  or  tea,  and  a  bed  too.?" 

Up  the  stairs  to  the  cock-loft  of  the  boarding-house  he  went, 
and  took  up  from  ten  honest  fellows  the  handsome  sum  of  $25.00. 

The  coffee  and  the  bed  were  heartily  accepted  and  enjoyed. 
It  was  night  when  he  arrived. 

For  Confessions,  Holy  Mass  and  Communion  for  the  morrow 
all  had  been  arranged,  and  the  good  Father,  after  satisfying  his 
warm-hearted  countrymen's  higher  natures,  assured  them  that 
every  two  weeks  at  Patrick  Dunn's  they  would  expect  him 
for  the  services  of  religion,  the  Irish  above  all  value  so  keenly, 
and  assist  at  so  reverently. 

The  year  1856  Mendota  was  handed  over  to  Bishop  Anthony 


133  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

O' Regan  of  Chicago,  who  succeeded  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Van  de 
Velde  in  1854. 

Whilst  our  great  preacher,  the  Superior  of  La  Salle  was  called 
to  preach  a  regular  mission  in  Joliet  and  Peoria,  the  Assistant 
Father  Anthony  gave  the  following  spicy  letter  to  Very  Rev. 
J.  J.  Lynch,  Superior  of  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Barrens,  Mo.  The 
property  our  good  old  Father  alludes  to  is  the  stone  house  on 
the  electric  railroad  between  Utica  and  Buffalo  Rock. 

La  Salle,  La  Salle  Co., 
Aug.  ist.,  '55. 
Very  Rev.  and  Dear  Bro: 

Gratia  D.  N.  J.  C.  sit  semper  nobiscum: 

I  suppose  that  you  have  heard  before  this  time,  of  the  work- 
ings of  Divine  Grace  in  Joliet,  and  of  the  swellings  of  your  Priests. 
They  went  so  far  that  they  were  near  bursting. 

The  only  thing  that  I  regretted  when  we  went  to  the  Novi- 
tiate in  futuro,  was  that  you  were  not  there;  I  think  that  your 
heart  would  swell  as  much  as  Father  Hennessy's  ever  did  in  the 
Pulpit.  I  think  that  Providence  got  some  one  to  build  it  for 
us.  I  know  that  as  soon  as  you  will  see  it,  that  you  will  say 
that  it  is  God's  will  that  it  should  be  ours.     Let  us  buy  it. 

It  has  all  the  advantages  that  can  he  desired  whether  as  a 
Novitiate,  a  Mission  house,  or  a  petit  seminary.  It  is  in  the 
heart  of  a  Catholic  people,  who  know  how  to  appreciate  the 
success  of  their  clergy.  In  confirmation  of  my  assertion,  Fr. 
McGill  went  to  Sheffield  on  last  Sunday  and  nearly  everyone 
there  went  to  Confession  and  they  appeared  to  be  as  much  in 
earnest  about  the  one  thing  necessary  as  they  were  in  Joliet; 
there  are  only  about  fifteen  families,  there;  they  gave  him  as  a 
small  token  $41.00,  which  he  would  not  get  in  41  years  from 
the  Barrenites.  You  may  ask  how  can  we  procure  this  desirable 
location.  I'll  tell  you  we  have  means  and  heart  to  do  it  our 
selves,  without  the  assistance  of  any  other  place.  This  country 
alone  is  sufficient  to  supply  it  with  boys.  It  has  another  ad- 
vantage— you  can  go  to  any  part  of  the  Union  without  any 
delay  from  it — it  is  mid  way  between  La  Salle  and  Ottawa,  and 
a  half  mile  from  a  station  house.  The  Illinois  River  is  running 
back  of  the  house.  There  is  a  bathing  house  at  the  river,  and 
the  Sulphur  Springs  on  the  premises.  We  could  have  a  band 
of  Missioners  here,  where  Missions  are  so  much  wanted  and  where 
the  right  kind  of  soil  is  for  producing  fruit  in  abundance. 


STONE    HOUSE,    2ND    SCHOOL    OF    THE    SISTERS. 


STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION.  133 

In  five  years  I  would  venture  to  say  that  it  would  be  the 
most  important  house  that  we  have  in  this  country,  and  where  all 
the  ends  of  the  congregation  could  be  carried  out  to  the  letter 
and  the  spirit — I  think  I  may  conclude  by  hoping  that  e'er 
long  we  will  have  your  and  Mr.  Masnou's  approval.  '^^^ 

Please  remember  me  to  Mr.  Hennessy  and  Community. 
I  remain,  Rev.  Sir  and  Dear  Bro., 

Mr.  Anthony,  C.  M. 

To    Fr.    Lynch,    C.    M. 

Our  Missioners  of  the  two  generations,  since  the  eloquent 
contemporary  of  the  Illustrious  Hughes  and  Timon  lived  here, 
will  be  the  writer  feels,  instructed  by  the  views  given  of  Missions, 
by  their  old  confrere.  The  letter  is  addressed  to  Rev.  E.  M. 
Hennessy,  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Barrens,  Mo. 

La  Salle,  December  30,  1856. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Confrere : 

The  Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  ever  with  us.  The 
sweet  aniversary  of  Christmas  is  already  past  like  all  its  prede- 
cessors, and  that  of  the  new  year  will  have  been  ere  this  reaches 
you,  and  therefore,  you  will  have  experienced  the  happiness  of 
both  without  my  wishing  you  that  happiness.  Let  me,  there- 
fore, wish  you  its  continuance,  not  only  at  annum  but  ad  multos 
annos. 

Our  festivals  here  have  passed  very  pleasantly  in  all  respects: 
good  weather,  good  cheer,  much  piety,  and  let  me  add,  not  a 
little  liberality.  I  hope  you  may  be  able  to  say  so  much  for 
the  Barrens.  So  I  hear  Mr.  Mason  leaves  us  and  probably  not 
to  return.  Spain  or  Spanish  America  will  probably  claim 
him. 

I  regret  it  for  he  would  be  useful  to  us  and  notwithstanding 
all  our  professions  to  the  contrary,  we  generally  feel  first  and 
most  for  ourselves.  Well,  fiat  voluntas  tua!,  and  now  I  must 
advise  you  for  the  good  of  us  both,  I  think  without  presumption, 
"^y  gray  head  may  allow  me  this  privilege.  I  want  you  to  send 
up  Rev.  Mr.  Buysch  for  a  week  or  two  to  confess  the  Germans. 
He  will,  in  the  meantime  have  an  opportunity  to  collect  the  bills 
due  to  the  Seminary.  They,  or  some  one  will  pay  his  traveling 
expenses.  I  have  been  requested  a  few  days  ago  by  our  friend 
of  Joliet,  to  go  up  and  give  a  triduum,  as  they  are  about  erecting 
the  stations  of  the  cross,  and  have  shown  no  small  piety  by 


134  STORY  OF  THE  LA  SALLE  MISSION. 

shelling  out'two  hundredMollars^in'ready  cash  for  them — a  beau- 
tiful set  of  oil  paintings. 

I  intend  to  go  and  answer  their  pious  solicitude  towards  the 
end  of  next  month.  If  Mr.  Buysch  could  be  here  by  that  time, 
so  that  he  would  attend  in  Peru  and  assist  Father  Anthony  in 
La  Salle,  in  my  absence  it  would  be  very  agreeable.  I  know 
your  good  heart  knows  how  to  feel  and  succor  the  miserable 
and  will  prompt  you  to  do  all  practicable  things  to  effect  it. 
5*^^,  The  Mission  in  Peoria  I  have  not  had  courage  to  attempt 
single-handed,  even  if  I  could  manage  the  wants  of  home  in 
the  interval.  Little  substantial  good  can  be  effected  by  one, 
for  no  matter  what  may  be  the  talking,  if  the  Confessional  is 
not  well  attended  to,  the  result  will  hardly  be  worth  the  labor. 
Here  it  is  the  fruit  is  to  be  gathered  "Messis  Multa  Operarii 
Pauci."  My  best  regards  to  Confreres.  Pray  for  your  un- 
worthy but  devoted  in  X, 

J.  O'Reilly,  C.  M. 

After  nine  years  of  faithful  service  at  La  Salle,  in  which  he 
had  played  the  most  important  part  for  the  temporal  and  moral 
standing  of  the  city,  for  the  temporal,  since  under  him  the 
great  church  had  been  completed  and  consecrated;  ground  had 
been  bought  for  the  Sister  School,  a  rock  school  had  gone  up, 
and  the  Sisters  of  St.  Vincent  had  entered;  had  not  also  the 
moral  or  manners  of  La  Salle  improved?  Who  had  more  elo- 
quently urged  his  own  children  to  walk  in  the  way  pointed  out 
by  Jesus  Christ?  Who  had  more  thoroughly  and  more  unspar- 
ingly scathed  vice  than  he,  and  chiefly  the  vice  of  scandal  or 
public  fighting?  The  writer,  as  a  boy,  heard  the  great  Lazarist 
denouncing  the  scandal  given  on  Maine  Street  by  two  half- 
drunken  fighting  fellows.  Quoting  the  lines  of  St.  Paul,  Father 
John  O'Reilly,  in  thundering  voice  exclaimed,  "So  St.  Paul  was 
a  boxer."  The  sermon,  it  is  unnecessary  to  write,  was  so  power- 
ful that  the  scandal  givers  and  their  abbettors  had  to  leave 
town. 

In  June,  1857,  the  good  Father  appointed  Superior  of  St. 
Vincent's  Church,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  left  at  the  word  received  from 
authority  for  his  new  charge,  to  the  sorrow  not  only  of  La  Salle 
but  to  the  whole  diocese  of  Chicago. 

END  OF  FIRST  PART. 


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